Saving Naruto
by AlmineGoneWild
Summary: Naruto and Sasuke clash in the valley of the end however this time things are different. Bent on exacting revenge on the village that scorned him his whole life, Naruto seeks out Orochimaru's power while Sasuke, seeing a new view on his life, vows to not only destroy Itatchi with his own power but to bring home his true brother and someday become hokage.
1. Chapter 1

Saving Naruto

By Almine H

 ** _Prologue:_**

 **** ** _Impact! That's when everything changed, when his eyes opened to see something that he hadn't seen before. Sasuke Uchiha saw it deep in his friend's, Naruto's eyes. The pain; the anguish; the bitter hatred towards everyone else. The power he'd just demonstrated was proof of his resolve and the things he'd said before finally sunk in._**

 **** ** _Sasuke couldn't believe how blind he'd been, how he and many others had paid no heed to the warning signs the blonde had demonstrated through his years. True it'd been Sasuke wanting to run away and attempt to gain more power but it was Naruto who'd officially decided to use the rescue attempt to turn his own back on the village. As Sasuke watched his friend in slow motion, he noticed the pain stricken expression and tears flowing out and over upon his face._**

 ** _Then the next thing Sasuke knew, as he'd let down his guard, the blonde had hit him with his powerful fist square in the chest. Sasuke made one last attempt but only managed to scratch the other's headband. There was now spinning within Sasuke's head and he felt nauseous finally having crumpled to the ground on his back. Naruto meanwhile remained standing and panting over him from the fight, his anger quelled for the time being as the chakra cloak he'd worn previously had dispersed. Sasuke held him in his gaze as the world had begun spiraling out of control. A woman appeared behind Naruto and placed a hand on his shoulder, grinning down with superiority at his limp form and that was the last thing Sasuke saw before falling into unconsciousness._**

 ** _Naruto stared down at the unconscious figure of whom he'd dubbed his former friend; the one he'd thought would understand him more than the rest of the village as he'd been alone too and had felt similar pains. True Sasuke had always pushed people away and that had actually been what had caused Naruto to get angry with him in the first place but he'd still known the pain of being alone._**

 ** _Throughout the whole of Naruto's life, he'd been scorned by the villagers and looked down upon with hatred and then there had been an incident when he'd been younger where he'd done something terrible and had found the woman currently standing with him now who'd consoled him afterwards. The woman had been the only one in his life to show him affection and tell him the full truth of what he really was. He'd decided long ago that she was the only one he could trust other than his teammates and sensei until that is he'd decided to use the rescue attempt of Sasuke to finally sever his own bonds with the village that'd hated him. Now the woman with him was the only one he could trust._**

 ** _"_** ** _Let's go Naruto," she said softly in his ear like a mother would to her child. Naruto nodded and the woman began to leave. He turned to go and took one last look at Sasuke unconscious on the ground._**

 ** _"_** ** _I really thought you'd be different," he said sadly. Then he turned and allowed the woman who called herself Viper to embrace him in a quick little hug then guide him away from the valley of the end where the battle had taken place._**

 ** _Meanwhile, rain had started to fall and Pakun, one of Kakashi Hatake's ninja hounds was trying to follow Naruto's scent. They came to the valley of the end where they saw a form lying on the ground from afar. Kakashi had a pit of fear developing in his stomach but he approached the scene nonetheless, surprised to see that instead of Naruto, Sasuke his other student was lying defeated on the ground and Naruto was nowhere in sight. Kakashi then observed the battlefield._**

 ** _"_** ** _They certainly went all out, didn't they?" commented Pakun. Kakashi nodded in agreement with his faithful hound._**

 ** _"_** ** _Yes, they certainly did and yet, Naruto is nowhere to be found. I wonder if this means what I've been fearing all along." He continued to look around the battle field then sighed and shook his head. Then his eyes fell upon Sasuke once more who needed immediate medical treatment so wasting no more time, he hefted the Uchiha boy onto his back and began the long trek home._**

 ** _Along the way the rain stopped and Sasuke, feeling the extra heat and movement, stirred, opening his eyes slightly. He saw the ground and glancing up slightly could see that his sensei was carrying him. His heart suddenly filled with sorrow._**

 ** _"_** ** _Sensei…" he spoke softly. Kakashi glanced back at the boy who was looking at the ground._**

 ** _"_** ** _Yes?" he answered the boy. There was a short pause then…_**

 ** _"_** ** _Where's Naruto?" Kakashi didn't know how to answer him. Sasuke took this as all he needed for an adequate answer. He remained silent for a while, watching the ground pass by underneath them falling into a trance from the motion. He then grasped Kakashi's shoulder tightly while shaking slightly._**

 ** _"_** ** _Sensei…" he spoke again, this time his voice wavered some. Kakashi paid attention to his student as his new and sudden behavior caught him by surprise as he'd never known Sasuke to get emotional unless he was truly angry over something._**

 ** _"_** ** _I'm sorry!" he choked out weakly. "I'm really sorry. I…I don't want to run away any more. I don't want to go to Orochimaru. I'm sorry!" There was more silence as Kakashi was now truly baffled. He wondered just what had happened on the battlefield between his two students. Finally he responded to Sasuke's apology._**

 ** _"_** ** _It's okay Sasuke," he said softly. "We can talk about it all later. Just rest now." Sasuke nodded slightly, some tears still rolling down his cheek. It didn't take long for the motion of being carried and the warmth from Kakashi's back to eventually rock the exhausted Uchiha back into the depths of unconsciousness._**

 ** _Meanwhile, walking in the opposite direction, Viper had her arm around Naruto's shoulder. As they walked, Naruto remained silent and Viper took a glance down at the blonde haired boy. A malicious grin spread across her face and her eyes glinted evilly. She truly had found herself a little treasure. True, they were still headed to Orochimaru's hideout but it wouldn't be too long until her treasure would destroy him and his pathetic little pawns. She could care less about the Uchiha brat Orochimaru had wanted, she had found her gem, her diamond in the rough._**

 ** _Viper's true plans for the boy lay not souly with the nine tails inside him but with the unique chakra of the boy and his mysterious heritage she'd been researching. Her plans of course were unknown to anyone else but her and her secret little cult, formed over many years of brooding hatred and deceit and soon, once those plans had become realized, she would complete her master's bidding; to finally destroy the so called deity figure, Kaguya once she was reformed and complete her master's revenge._**

 ** _Meanwhile, as Viper had these thoughts, Naruto leaned into her, tired from the battle. She then laughed maniacally but internally as she pulled the boy closer to her, sugar coating her motherly act. Yes soon her master's dreams would be realized but for now, she would play the caring master and mother that Naruto had always yearned for._**


	2. Chapter 1 (The Tables Have Turned)

**_Chapter 1_**

 ** _(The Tables Have Turned.)_**

He ran down the endless corridors of the labyrinth breathing hard. Each hallway looked the same as the one before with swirling patterns along the walls, the ceilings and the floors and each one was just as long. The only light came from the candlesticks mounted on the walls. His footsteps echoed on the stone flooring as he ran. Soon he came to a door and he slowed to a complete stop, opening it suddenly and looking inside to find it empty, just like the last one. He didn't bother closing it as he backed up and continued running down the corridor.

He continued this procedure for every door he found and every hallway he turned. He came to another door and opened it up to peer inside. He slammed his fist in frustration against the frame.

"Damn it!" he cursed as he turned back down the hallway and continued his desperate search. There just had to be a room that had who he was looking for inside. And so he continued running and opening doors, turning down new hallways and opening doors. He was getting more frustrated with every empty room; and more running.

 _Come on you loser, where the hell are you!?_ More running; _where are you!?_ He kept screaming the thoughts over and over in his head as if the other could hear him. Suddenly there was a loud explosion nearby that shook every corridor and made the candle flames flicker. He determined where it'd come from and made his way there as quickly as possible. Somehow he knew…he knew he'd be there. He turned down another hallway and this time he could see daylight at the end of it and it got brighter as he got closer.

Up ahead, there were two people standing in a clearing of rubble and he recognized them. One of them was the rosette who shared the same squad as him. She had short pink hair that was held back by a red clothed village headband. Even from this distance he could tell it was her. The one who stood beside her on the far end was the latest member of their squad who'd been assigned for his own mission other than the one they'd been given, one he didn't know. This same shinobi made his blood boil but he had the specialty of keeping his cool about him. He got closer and closer and finally he broke through into the clearing with his two comrades. He saw they were looking up at something and so he too turned to face that something.

Right before his eyes, and he could barely believe them after all of this time, there stood his comrade, his friend who'd run away from the village a long time ago. The very one he'd sworn to bring home. All time seemed to just freeze around them as they took one another in, one of them being unamused and unemotional and for the first time ever, it wasn't Sasuke Uchiha.

"N-Naruto," Sasuke stuttered some as he beheld the sight of his now grown up comrade. He now wore dark black pants over which was draped a dark black cloth that went down to his knees from his stomach and was held in place by a fiery blood red coloured rope belt tied off at the side. His hands were heavily bandaged underneath a pair of black gloves and he wore a red long sleeved shirt that was parted down the torso, a necklace with a special stone at the end hung around his neck.

"Sasuke," Naruto replied impassively. It surprised the raven haired boy just how emotionless the blonde could be. Suddenly, memories of the past battle, of that day came flooding back to him.

 _"_ _What the heck do you know about it!?"He growled at the blonde who'd pounded him into the ground, searching for an answer to his desertion. "It's not like you had a family in the first place…_ _You were on your own right from the beginning! What makes you think you'd know anything about it huh?! I'm suffering now because I had those ties. How on earth could you possibly understand what it feels like to lose all that?!"_

The boy's hands clenched into fists. "I…was such a fool back then," he stated. He continued to remember what had happened next.

" _And do you really think I'm better off?!" the blonde asked suddenly. "Do you honestly think your suffering has been greater than mine? Let me ask you something Sasuke…would you really take being hated over being loved?" The raven haired boy was taken aback by the sudden question but decided to give an answer anyway._

 _"_ _Humph, well maybe if I had been hated…I wouldn't be in as much pain as I am now!" The blonde haired boy suddenly became angrier than he had before. He shouted at the Uchiha._

 _"_ _Then you're a damned idiot!" he screamed as he launched himself forward punching the raven haired boy on the jaw; the force throwing him back and skidding him on the surface of the water. He was able to use his chakra just in time to keep himself from going under. As he tried to sit up, he froze as he noticed the change about the air. Something demonic was nearby and whatever it was, the power leak was coming from Naruto. Naruto glanced up at the raven haired boy and the sheer amount of hatred and pain seething through his being reflected in his chakra and his eyes causing the raven haired teen to wince._

 _"_ _You really don't get it do you?!" he continued to shout. "You're the one who's lucky here. You're the one that actually had a family and even though it was taken away from you, at least you were still loved! At least even though now they're gone you have a chance to make new bonds with others and heal your wounds because not everyone in the village hates you!"_

"Back then…I was so wrapped up in my own goals, my own desires to become stronger…I just thought it was all about me and it wasn't," he continued to speak.

 _"_ _You know it's a lot different for me! I've been hated since the day I was born and not just by the village either. I learned that my father was the fourth hokage and that he turned me into a monster just so he could save that wretched village. He gave up his life for that and used his only son to be the vessel of a demon!" Sasuke dodged another of Naruto's ferocious attacks as he came forth again with the help of his sharingan._

 _"_ _Did you know Sasuke," he started again with a slight chuckle. "The fourth hokage saved the Hidden Leaf village from the wrath of the nine tailed fox? Well guess what…that same demon is sealed inside of me! That's why I'm a monster and that's why…I'm not here to bring you back to the village!" This caught the Uchiha by surprise._

 _"_ _Then why the hell are you trying to stop me from leaving! Why the hell do you care about what I do?!" The blonde paused a moment, some slight sadness developing on his features but then it disappeared, however leaving a softer anger than before._

 _"_ _Because…I thought you'd be different! I thought that you would understand me but I guess I was wrong. There's no one I can trust anymore, I'm all alone! I don't even have a clan to go to or an older brother to destroy for their destruction. I have…nothing because nobody loves a monster! That's why I'm going to run away from it all and then return to the village one day but stronger. I'll seek out my own power and destroy it all in one blow. Then in their final hours, they'll realize that they were wrong to treat me like scum. They'll realize…that they should've probably locked me up or killed me a long time ago!"_

 _"_ _Then why don't you just go?" Sasuke questioned. "We don't even need to fight like this if we're both going our own ways and there's nothing they can do about it so why not just spare yourself the further humiliation?" The blonde smirked then began to chuckle._

 _"_ _You see, that's the problem Sasuke," he explained. "Since we're going our own separate ways, and despite that you're turning your own back on the Leaf it's still just as you said. In order to gain more power, I have to eliminate all ties I have with everyone and that includes you. What better way to sever our tie than to kill you just as you wish to do to me?" The Uchiha smirked some._

 _"_ _Humph, fine by me," he said smugly, "But no more talking. Die Naruto!" he charged forth to attack. The blonde too charged forth, rage and bloodlust on his features._

 _"_ _Sasuke!" he shouted. And the two clashed and the battle resumed eventually leading to their stalemate and Sasuke's defeat._

Now the raven haired teen stood before his friend once more, this time a new goal in mind. "Now I realize that I'm not the only one who matters in this world and I've come to a new resolve." He closed his eyes momentarily and let the breeze blow through his hair. When he opened his eyes again, there was a solid determination and his sharingan, now more mature, was activated.

"I'm not going to stoop to **_his_** level and I'll carve my own ninja way. With every fiber of my being, I'll stay true to our bond…I won't let it be broken and I'll bring you back to Konoha with my own strength!" After the Uchiha's proclamation, there rose a silence where only the wind that was blowing about could be heard. Then Naruto sighed, closing his own eyes.

"You're going to bring me back huh?" he repeated the Uchiha's words. Then in a flash that nobody could see, he was standing right beside the Uchiha, a hand placed on his shoulder and taking everyone by surprise. Naruto scoffed and a grin tugged at his lips.

"So if I've got this right…" he started, "You've been spending these past few years chasing after me so you can bring me back to Konoha, is that right?" His question was met with silence from the Uchiha and he took this as affirmation.

"Well that is surprising," he continued. "To think you'd put aside finding and killing your older brother in order to come find me instead, how touching." His tone was mocking but there was still no response from the Uchiha. "If you ask me…I think you could've used that time smarter and finally have found him and avenged your clan. Then you could've finally lived in peace and lived happily ever after well…that is until I came about. Such a waste!" The Uchiha stirred.

"If that were so then why'd you not finish me off that day?" Sasuke questioned. He looked straight ahead past Naruto and stared blankly at the rubble that used to be attached to the wall. "I thought you said you wanted to break our bond so why not get it over with? You beat me didn't you?" The blonde paused for a moment then scoffed once more at the Uchiha's words.

"Why you ask? Why it's simple." He grinned. "It's because I refuse to kill someone who can't defend themselves. I'd defeated you and you were unable to continue battling, I spared you based on that principal. If you had remained able to fight then it would've been a different story. But now since you bring it up…" suddenly, Naruto's other hand reached behind him, grasping a hold of a sword hilt. He pulled it out of its sheath and began to bring it around. Sasuke remained unmoving.

"Let's see if the great Uchiha can defend himself now. He's able to fight now so the only reason he should get slain is because he chooses it to be so." The sword grew closer and now it was aimed towards Sasuke's back and at a vital spot.

"How can I possibly face Itatchi…when I'm not strong enough to save a friend?" he questioned blankly as the blade was now close to piercing through his flesh. The rosette, Sakura, gasped coming forth to try and stop it from happening but she was too slow. The blade pierced through Sasuke's body and drew blood and Sasuke just stood there a pained and shocked expression on his face as Naruto grinned with pleasure at the thought of finally defeating his life-long rival.

* * *

Sakura Haruno awoke with a start, throwing off her covers in the process, a scream of surprise escaping her lips. She then sat in her bed for a while as she slowly returned to reality. She looked about, realizing she was back in her room and that she was all alright. She tried to slow her breathing and her palpitating heart.

"Phew, just a bad dream," she stated, trying to reassure herself. As she sat there she tried to piece it all together again and figure out what it meant. However, her thoughts were interrupted by her mother's voice calling to her from the kitchen.

"Sakura! Are you out of bed yet? Sakura!" Sakura sighed. Her mother could be so annoying sometimes when she nagged. But nevertheless she had to admit that she was right about some things that she herself was wrong.

"Coming!" She called down as she got up and stretched to the ceiling. She then made her way over to her closet and opened it up, pulling out her usual clothing garments. She pulled on her usual red top with a white circle graphic on the back over top of a clean bra and then pulled up her typical black shorts which over top she put on a light, easy pink apron skirt around her waist. Next she tied on her kunai and shuriken holsters and pulled on her elbow protectors which were the same colour as her skirt. Then she tied on her new medical pouch and finally stood in front of the mirror, brushing her hair some before tying it back with her red clothed leaf village headband. She gave a curt nod then turned tail and hurried into the kitchen for breakfast.

"Good morning," she called as she entered.

"Good morning," her father responded from behind his newspaper. Her mother nodded in her general direction.

"Took you long enough!" she pointed out. Sakura rolled her eyes.

"Mom, I told you before that when I say I'm coming, I mean it but I have to get ready first. It takes time," she said as she took her breakfast plate and sliced two pieces of bread before putting them neatly in the toaster.

"Well just as long as you're not sleeping in and being lazy," her mother countered. She always worried for her daughter seeing as she had only one child to worry for but it never stopped her from being just as much a nag as any other average mother was to their children.

The toast finally popped out of the toaster and Sakura retrieved the slices, spreading some jam over them as soon as they were cool enough. Then she went over to the frying pan where her mother had made pork for the morning and got a few slices of that as well. Then with a small bowl of white rice, she made her way over to sit down next to her father. Her father put down his newspaper and turned to her.

"Well then flower blossom what's on the agenda for today huh?" he asked excitedly. He always enjoyed talking with his daughter even if only for a little while every morning. She was usually either away on short missions, training with the hokage or trying to find information on her missing friend. Either way, she was often very busy and it was hard for her father since his only little girl was growing up right before his very eyes. Sakura finished chewing a bite of toast she'd taken.

"Well, I was going to head to the lady hokage's office to see if she had any jobs for me. Then I was going to practice some more by myself on one of the training fields."

"Hm, well that sounds like a good plan. Maybe on your way back home you could pick up a few things for me," her mother hinted.

"Oh sure, what do you need?" she asked. Her mother sat down with a pen and a slip of paper and wrote out a few things onto it then handed it to her daughter.

"There. It's just a few things so it shouldn't be too troublesome." Sakura took the list and went over it then pocketed it in her pouch.

"Alright, I'll do it as soon as I'm done for the day." With that she finished her breakfast, pulled on her low heel, knee high sandals and was out the door before her father could make another ridiculous and lame dad joke.

Sakura headed towards the hokage's office and arrived just in time to find her sensei downing some morning sake, probably the last of her bottle from last night. She sighed and began to help her out doing some organizing of the files she'd been working on. At around noon, she was sent to retrieve the traffic reports from the front gates. Suddenly, her name was called out from behind her.

"Hey…Sakura!" Sakura turned to see a little boy with brown hair that stuck up everywhere wearing gray pants and a pale green jacket with a dark green stipe down the middle and a blue scarf wrapped around his neck longer than his body, coming forth with his two comrades. It was Konohamaru Sarutobi, the grandson of the late third hokage and his two comrades Udon and Moegi. A smile made its way to her lips.

"Oh hi Konohamaru," she said as he and his teammates came to a complete halt. He smiled back at her, happy after having finally completed his latest cat rescue mission and eager to see if he could help anyone in any way during his break period.

"So where are you off too?" he queried.

"The main gate, I have to pick up this morning's pedestrian traffic ledger for Lady Tsunade," she replied. She noticed the eager expression on Konohamaru's face. "Do you want to come along?" she asked of the boy. Konohamaru grew excited.

"Yes that'd be super!" he exclaimed. "We're free right now. Well how about it guys?" he turned to his teammates. Moegi just shrugged.

"It's fine if you want to Konohamaru, I don't mind," replied the young genin. Udon nodded.

"Yeah, I don't have anything to do either," he stated. Sakura smiled.

"Alright then," she said gesturing for them to come along. The four ninja all made their way towards the main gate. All the while Sakura kept glancing back at Konohamaru when he wasn't paying attention and a nostalgic look came into her eyes. _Konohamaru,_ she thought to herself. _He causes trouble and can be hard to handle at times. He's just like_ _ **him**_ _when he was that age._

Despite her hiding her glances from Konohamaru and Udon, Moegi noticed easily. However she didn't say anything until the sixth time while Konohamaru was distracted completely immersed in retelling the cat rescue story.

"Hey Sakura is something the matter?" she asked in a whisper pulling the rosette from her train of thought.

"Oh what…oh no sorry," she apologized. "I was just thinking to myself that's all."

"Um, okay if you say so," replied the younger kunoich.

"Hey we're here!" exclaimed Konohamaru suddenly causing Sakura to look up. They'd reached the main gate in no time and now Sakura shook herself from her reverie and strode forward taking the lead. She came to the entrance point shack and waved.

"Hey Izumo; Kotetsu! How are you today?" she called. The two gate guards grinned as she approached.

"Well look who's here," chuckled Izumo. Sakura seemed taken aback by the sudden phrase.

"Something's waiting for ya back in town," stated Kotetsu with a light laugh.

"Yeah, you have to see it to believe it," Izumo added. Now Sakura raised an eyebrow, confused by the two ninja's antics.

"What're you guys talking about?" Konohamaru inquired of the two. Realization suddenly lit up Sakura's features as she put two and two together. She turned to face back towards the village then back to the two Jonin.

"No way," she gasped. "You don't mean…"

"Yup," Kotetsu replied. Sakura's face remained one of shock until Izumo broke her from her thoughts.

"Hey, you're here for this morning's traffic reports aren't you?" he asked of the Kunoich. Sakura shook herself back to reality.

"Oh, yes. Lady Tsunade wanted them as soon as possible," she replied. Izumo nodded then he reached underneath the stand and brought out the papers.

"Here you go," he said. "All ready for delivery." Sakura took the papers and stowed them safely in her side pouch. Then she took off, team Ebisu hot on her heals headed towards the Hokage's office down a simple street. Sakura hoped that Izumo and Kotetsu hadn't pulled some prank; she hoped that he'd be there.

Meanwhile, the old toad sage known as Jiraiya had returned with his apprentice and the two were now walking through the village side by side. Many villagers stopped what they were doing to behold the sight.

"Heh, two and a half years and this place doesn't look like it's changed a bit," said the apprentice with some slight nostalgia forming. Jiraiya chuckled nearby.

"Heh, heh, well now I suppose it hasn't." The two came to a point in the street where the apprentice stopped nearby a telephone pole.

"I'm going to check it out," he stated. "I'll be right back." And in a flash he was gone from the ground and on the very top of the pole. He looked around observing his home village from the new height. He wore a blue v neck, short sleeved shirt with bandages going all the way up his arms. Over top of the bandages on his hands were a pair of black gloves and around his waist he wore a black sash. His pants were long and light gray with wrappings around one holding his shuriken and kunai holster in place. On his feet he wore, low heel shin high sandals and upon his brow he wore a leaf village headband with a hidden leaf village symbol. His raven black hair glinted in the sunlight. He suddenly caught a glimpse of the hokage monument, seeing an extra face up on it.

"Well…it looks like lady fifth finally had her own face installed. Not too shabby!" he spoke to himself. He crossed his arms across his chest, a smile upon his face as he continued looking about. _Well everyone_ , he thought. _Sasuke Uchiha has returned to the hidden leaf village._ Just as he finished the thought, a familiar voice shouted up to him from below.

"Sasuke?" it questioned. "Sasuke is that really you? When'd you get back?" Sasuke gazed down and saw a familiar head of pink hair on the ground looking up at him. Sasuke smirked.

"Just now actually!" he called out as he leapt down to the ground and met her at the same level. "It's been a while hasn't it…Sakura." Sakura meanwhile didn't know how to react as Sasuke for like the first time ever was smiling at her and wasn't holding back his emotions. Sakura blushed.

"Heh, I've never seen you smile like that before Sasuke," she pointed out. Sasuke then wore a look of confusion on his face. Then the smile returned.

"Humph, yeah it's amazing what a few years of meditation and training can do huh?"

"Oh, yeah, I guess. Wow, you certainly have grown haven't you? I mean you always were taller than me but now you're even taller than when we were younger." Sasuke laughed lightly at that.

"Yeah well that's what happens when you hit puberty isn't it? Anyways it's great to see you again Sakura. I see I'm not the only one who's grown." Sakura blushed and glanced away.

"Oh yeah well I guess I have, haven't I, I mean…do you think I look more grown up like a woman and all?" she was blushing redder with every word. Sasuke chuckled.

"No, not really, you're still just you to me," he replied. Sakura's face lit up red as a tomato and for some reason, his answer slightly irked her. Her eye twitched some but she quelled her anger. Meanwhile Jiraiya watched the scene before him, an unimpressed look upon his face.

 _Jeez kid, you might be stronger and calmer but you're still just as thick as ever when it comes to women aren't you?_ He thought to himself. Sasuke meanwhile remained oblivious.

"Hey Sasuke," Konohamaru called out getting the raven haired teen's attention. Suddenly there was a puff of smoke an in Konohamaru's place, was a young and naked girl holding her butt and winking as she said, 'Sexy jutsu'. Sasuke stared with an unamused look, Sakura and Moegi were slightly fuming and as for the old toad sage, his nose was already starting to run with blood and his tongue hung out of his mouth. Konohamaru then changed back grinning.

"Heh, what did you think. Pretty awesome huh? Naruto taught me that one back when he was a new genin. Since he's not here, I need someone to judge how I did." Sakura once again quelled her anger, the toad sage looked rather disappointed and Sasuke just sighed.

"I see, so Naruto taught you that huh?" There was a short silence as everyone thought of the loud and sometimes troublesome blonde who used to run amok in the streets of Konoha. Sasuke sighed and placed a hand on Konohamaru's head and gave a light smile accompanied with a chuckle.

"Konohamaru," he started. "Naruto wherever he is…well he's not that scrawny little prankster anymore and you shouldn't be using jutsu like that, it's beneath you. Besides, I'm sure he stopped using that one a long time ago." Konohamaru looked down at his feet glumly.

"Yeah okay," he agreed. He shuffled his feet somewhat embarrassed.

"Aw come on Sasuke, that jutsu works like a charm. It sure as hell got my attention," the perverted toad sage said rather creepily. He wiggled his fingers as he pictured the naked woman again and Sasuke just deadpanned.

"See Konohamaru," Sasuke stated dryly. "That's another reason you shouldn't use it. Creeps like him. Do you really want someone like that touching you?" Konohamaru thought about it as he eyed the pervert and shuddered in disgust.

"Yeah okay, I guess not but…it can still work as a distraction can't it?" Sasuke thought for a moment then sighed.

"Yeah, I suppose it could but I'd still be careful with using it if I were you." Konohamaru nodded and grinned, rubbing his hands together.

"In that case, I have a new idea, heh, heh, heh!" Moegi his teammate then deadpanned and came up beside him.

"If it involves sneaking into the grown up's magazine section again, count me out!"

"Yeah, me too," added a nervous Udon. Sakura then appeared with a scary face on her.

"You're not planning anything immature and offensive are you?" she growled. Konohamaru gulped as sweat rolled down his brow.

"Who me?" he questioned pointing a finger at himself. "No way. I respect all women," he stated. Sakura then grinned and patted him on the head.

"Good boy," she cooed falsely. Konohamaru shook in her presence and Sasuke had to wonder just why the boy was so scared of her. He then cleared his throat.

"I think we should get to the Hokage's office now, don't you toadstool?" he inquired of the toad sage. Jiraiya straightened up somewhat distracted from having been watching some young ladies walk by.

"Huh, what, oh yeah of course Sasuke, right, right!" he continued watching after the girls who walked by and had stopped outside of a shop. Sasuke reached up and tugged on the back of his master's collar, sighing as he went.

"Come on then," he said as he began dragging his sensei through the village all the while, Jiraiya tried to break free of his grip.

"Oh come on! Hey I've got an idea, why don't you go and I'll catch up huh, sound good?"

"Not if you want 'her' to come and find you peeking at the bath house," Sakura threatened as she followed them. Jiraiya straightened up some then, pouting as he let himself be dragged by his student. They waved goodbye to Konohamaru and his team as they went, Jiraiya too busy sulking to care.

Soon enough, after the episode in the streets, Sasuke found himself alongside Jiraiya, who'd finally decided to walk the rest of the way halfway up the stairs; and Sakura inside the Hokage's office. Tsunade held the two in her sight along with Shizune with a look of nostalgia on her own face.

"It's been a while you two," she stated, leaning back in her chair. "Your training proved to be fruitful I hope." Jiraiya laughed out loud.

"Hah, you think we would've come back without producing any results?" he stated plainly. Sasuke scoffed.

"Heh, mission accomplished and I'm content with my progress so far," he bragged. Tsunade nodded.

"Heh, well in that case...show me what you've got kid and don't hold back." Sasuke grinned.

"What, right here and now?" he asked sarcastically. He got into a ready stance which caused Tsunade to laugh lightly.

"Well…not exactly." Sasuke straightened back up. "I have someone I want you to go up against. I've kept him off missions the last few days so he'd be ready for just this moment. Your opponent will be…" but the hokage didn't get to finish her sentence as a knock on the door called her attention.

"Come in!" commanded the hokage. The door handle turned and the door itself creaked as it was opened on slightly rusty hinges. The ninjas currently within the room turned to face the doorway. No words were spoken as they saw who it was. The only thing that registered was surprise at who now stood before them in the room.

"Hey," greeted Shikamaru Nara as he and Temari of the hidden sand entered the office. There was some silence until Sakura called forth their attention.

"Hey Shikamaru, Temari, check out what the cat's dragged in!" she exclaimed excitedly. The two looked to where she was pointing and their eyes fell upon Sasuke. Shikamaru's eyes widened with surprise.

"Well I'll be," he exclaimed. "Sasuke Uchiha, it's been a while hasn't it? How've you been?" Sasuke smirked.

"Well Shikamaru I have to say you don't look like you've changed that much. You look just as laid back as ever. I've been good actually, better than I've felt in a long time."

"Heh and I see you haven't changed much either well…except that your attitude's not as harsh as before. Welcome back, did you just get in?" Shikamaru shifted position and pulled one hand out of his pocket then extended it. Sasuke approached and shook it while answering.

"Yeah, just a few moments ago actually. So I take it you're not my opponent then are you?" he queried. Shikamaru cocked an eyebrow.

"Opponent, what're you talking about?" Sasuke chuckled.

"Well lady hokage wants to test my skills on someone and you interrupted her before she could finish telling me who I'd be facing. Of course it could be you but then I don't think you would've agreed to it." Shikamaru smirked.

"Hardly, I'm just here to drop off some paperwork and then I'm gone. Besides if I did go up against you I get the feeling I would lose and I've had my hands full for the past few weeks."

"I see," Sasuke replied. They ended their handshake and Lady Tsunade cleared her voice drawing their attention.

"At any rate, Sasuke you won't find your opponent in here. He's out there!" she said pointing to a window on the left side of the office. Sasuke walked over to it and opened it to look outside. He smirked when he saw a familiar face sitting on the edge of the lower roof of the building.

"Well, well, well," said the voice of Kakashi Hatake. "Sasuke…it seems you went and grew up some I see." The silver haired jonin was sitting cross-legged and reading one of his favourite books. He wore his usual Konoha Jonin attire with his headband pulled down over one of his eyes and a mask covering his nose and the rest of his face below.

"Kakashi sensei," the Uchiha acknowledged. He leapt out the window and strolled over to the jonin who used to be his teacher and had taught him the chidori a while ago. Although his mask covered most of his face, it was noticeable that the jonin was smiling nostalgically through it.

"I see you haven't changed a bit sensei," Sasuke commented. He noticed the book in his sensei's hand. "And still reading those novels I see which reminds me…" he reached into his pouch and drew out a book then tossed it to Kakashi who caught it expertly. "The old toadstool gave that to me for some light reading but I couldn't really get into a story like that so I thought you might like it instead." Kakashi was barely listening to his student as he beheld the title of the book in awe.

"No way," he exclaimed. "Isn't this…this is…" his hand shook with excitement as he held the book.

"The latest installment of the make out series in three years," Sasuke replied. "I thought since you have the other books already, you'd want to get a head start before everyone else. It's not even in stores yet." Kakashi seemed to be overly pleased with his new present and right away Sasuke was wondering if he should've waited until later to give it to him.

"Calm down!" Lady Tsunade barked. She was slightly peeved that a book like that had made it into her presence. "This isn't the time to be fooling around Kakashi." She turned her head back in and stalked away from the window. Kakashi did as he was told, reclaiming his composure and closed the book he'd opened previously to see the inside then calmly placed it into his pouch. He then stood from his position and followed Sasuke back towards the open window.

"I take it then that you'll be my opponent?" questioned Sasuke as he leapt back through the open window. Kakashi leaned against the window frame as Sasuke turned to face him again.

"Well, you're half right," stated the Jonin causing the raven haired teen to raise an eyebrow. Then Kakashi's gaze fell upon Sakura. "Been a long time, hasn't it Sakura?"

"Oh, yes it has sensei," replied the rosette. Kakashi grinned under his mask.

"So as to whom my opponent will be…" he paused, letting the sentence hang in the air some. Then he leapt up onto the window sill. He looked between his two students now standing side by side. "It's going to be Sasuke and Sakura!" he stated plainly. The two were caught by surprise.

"So both of us at the same time," Sasuke questioned.

"That's right," interjected lady Tsunade, calling their attention. "Kakashi will put you to the test. How well you do against him will determine your future status."

"Huh, their future status?" questioned Shikamaru of no one in particular. Tsunade turned her gaze upon Sakura.

"Sakura," she called forth the rosette's attention. "It's time to show that your training with me wasn't a waste of time." Sakura gave a curt nod.

"Right!" Sakura agreed. Then Tsunade turned to Sasuke.

"And let's see how far you've come as well Sasuke." Sasuke nodded as well

"You won't be disappointed," he assured her.

"So," Kakashi called their attention back to him. "Shall we get started?

"Huh," Sasuke stated. "Here and now, don't you think we'd better move to a more appropriate location?" Kakashi nodded.

"Well, that goes without saying and I suppose you're right. Sasuke you must be exhausted from your trip back and this is so sudden, we should give you a chance to rest up a bit." Sasuke narrowed his eyes.

"That's not what I meant. I can go right now if you're ready!" Kakashi waved the raven haired boy's statement aside.

"No, no, you go ahead and rest yourself up and take it easy for now. I'll meet you later at the training grounds. So long!" And with that, Kakashi formed a hand sign and was gone in a puff of smoke before either of his students could protest.

"Well that's odd isn't it?" questioned Shizune. "He seemed in a hurry." Tsunade sighed, leaning back in her chair and crossing her arms across her chest.

"Yeah and I have a pretty good idea why," she sighed.

"Heh can't wait to read that book," Shikamaru stated. Sasuke stared at the place where his sensei used to be.

"I knew I should've waited to give it to him," Sasuke sighed.

"That explains it," Sakura stated. "He had that gleam in his eye. I'll bet that's why he's always late and making up lame excuses." Sasuke nodded in agreement. Meanwhile Jiraiya just chuckled behind them with his arms crossed over his chest feeling proud of himself.

 _Of course he wants to read it,_ he thought prideful. _Who in his right mind wouldn't want to read my book before anyone else does?_

A little while later, Sakura, Sasuke, Temari and Shikamaru were walking down a street in Konoha. Sasuke sighed.

"Whatever, it doesn't really matter to me when we take our test just as long as we get to," Sasuke stated. Sakura chuckled.

"Yeah well at least on the bright side of things this gives us the advantage to talk strategy right?"

"Right," he agreed. Sasuke then turned back to Shikamaru and Temari. "So what gives us the pleasure of hosting for someone from the sand? Is something going on between the two villages?" Shikamaru looked up and stopped walking.

"Well actually…the chunin exams are about to start and we've been getting ready for them," he stated simply.

"I've been busy running back and forth between your village and mine helping out," Temari added.

"Yeah, that's right and I'm her escort," Shikamaru said dully. "It's a drag and don't ask how it happened but I've been put in charge of organizing the chunin exams." A sudden wave of nostalgia arose on Sasuke's features.

"The chunin exams huh? That certainly takes me back," he said as he subconsciously lifted his hand to his shoulder where the curse mark from Orochimaru still existed. He clutched at it and gave a dry chuckle. "That was the turning point wasn't it? When everything went downhill." His friends gave him empathetic looks as they too remembered those same exams. Shikamaru was the first to recover as he stuffed his hands back into his pockets.

"Well speaking of which," he started. "What're you going to do Sasuke?" Sasuke looked up, raising an eyebrow.

"What do you mean?" he asked

"I mean about the Chunin exams," Shikamaru stated. "You're the only one in our year who isn't a chunin. Everyone is but you." Sasuke became surprised.

"Really, everyone?" he questioned. He turned to face Sakura. "Then are you a Chunin too Sakura?" he asked. Sakura became prideful and struck a pose with a smile on her face. She laughed lightly.

"That's right," she clarified. "While you were away I participated in them with Ino and Choji since Shikamaru was already made a chunin in the first ones."

"I see," Sasuke noted.

"Oh you haven't even heard the half of it," Shikamaru continued. "Kankuro, Neji and Temari here, they've even taken it a step further. They've already been made Jonin."

"Jonin, really?" Sasuke asked in surprise. Shikamaru nodded. Sasuke took a moment to take it all in.

"Then…what about your brother Gaara of the sand?" Sasuke inquired of Temari. Temari smirked and placed a hand on her hip whilst jutting it out to the side.

"What you haven't already heard?" she questioned. "Gaara's been made the fourth Kazekage of the sand!" Sasuke deadpanned.

"Well….that was fast," he stated. As he shook himself from his stupor, he looked up towards the hokage monument. A slight breeze blew through his raven black hair. A small smile tugged on his lips. "Well then that's just fine," he said calling their attention. He continued looking at the monument.

"I decided something on my journey with the old toadstool…someday when we're all here together in Konoha, I want to protect it with both of my arms and my own strength. So I've aspired to become hokage and guard over the next generation when it comes about to the best of my abilities." His statement took them all by surprise.

"Are…you serious about that Sasuke?" asked a stunned Shikamaru. Sasuke brought his gaze down from the monument with a light smile on his face.

"Yeah, I'm positive. But before I can do that I have other goals to accomplish first but mark my words, I will be hokage one day and this village will be under my protection." Shikamaru smiled at his friend's resolve.

"You know it wasn't that long ago a certain blonde haired knuckle headed ninja made the same vow to be acknowledged by everyone else. Suppose you bring him home and he still wants to become hokage himself?" there was a slight pause. Sasuke turned to walk away.

"Then we'll battle as friends and rivals until one of us wins," Sasuke stated simply. Sakura sighed and rolled her eyes at the boy's simplicity. Shikamaru sighed too.

"Well, I wish you the best of luck with that," he said. "Sorry to chat and run but I've got to escort Temari to the meeting hall where we'll plan the final stages of the Chunin exams together."

"Oh, alright then," Sakura called out, waving them goodbye as they departed.

"See ya!" Sasuke called after them with his own hand wave. He then turned around again and Sakura joined him, walking side by side again. Suddenly the rosette remembered something.

"Oh yeah, I promised mom I'd pick her some things up when I was done today but since we don't know exactly when the test is, I'd best do it now," she declared.

"Oh, well do you need any help?" Sasuke asked catching the rosette off guard. She blushed.

"Um well, sure if you want but I wouldn't want you to be putting yourself out for my sake." Sasuke scoffed.

"What're you talking about? I don't have anything to do today other than prepare for the test so I can help if you want, just say the word." Sakura attempted to calm herself down.

"Well okay then. The first stop is the grocery market. I have the list with me." She pulled it out of her pouch, re read it then nodded, putting it back where she'd pulled it from. Sasuke then followed her about, helping to get the groceries and what not that were on the list according to Sakura's memory and then he helped her carry them home. Afterwards the two departed for the training field destined to be their testing arena.

They waited about for a few moments before becoming annoyed.

"Ugh, I know he's always been like this but this is getting ridiculous!" Sakura complained.

"Well at least this way, we don't get in trouble if we're late by five minutes to his originally set time," Sasuke pointed out. Sakura sighed, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Yeah, I guess you have a point." Suddenly there was a puff of smoke above them on the fence surrounding the training arena. It dispersed to reveal Kakashi who waved down at them with a cheery smile.

"Sorry to keep you waiting," Kakashi apologized. "I…ran into this old lady who needed help carrying some things."

"Oh give us a break already!" Sakura yelled at him. Sasuke stared up at him.

"Same old sensei, same old bad timing and excuses," he stated with an unamused tone. Kakashi chuckled slightly. They made their way into the training ground and the two comrades looked around. It was the same training ground they'd passed their first test in to become genin. Sasuke looked about, nostalgia entering his eyes.

"This…certainly brings back memories," Sasuke stated. Sakura nodded as she too looked around.

"Does it ever," she agreed. Kakashi who'd started reading his book again looked up to see his students looking about their old training ground. He too felt nostalgia flood him as he remembered those days. They all remembered.

 _Kakashi Hatake stood before his three new charges who had dropped their bags on the training field. He'd asked them to come early this morning and to not eat any breakfast otherwise they would puke. However that hadn't been the real reason. Kakashi then held up two bells._

 _"_ _Your assignment is very simple," he stated. "You just have to take these bells from me, that's all there is to it. If you can't get em by noon you go without lunch."_

 _"_ _What?!" exclaimed the young blonde of the group. He just couldn't believe his ears. Neither could the other two for that matter. Kakashi then pointed towards the three wooden posts sticking up out of the ground which upon one there sat a timer._

 _"_ _You'll be tied to those posts and you'll watch as I eat my lunch in front of you," Kakashi continued. The three new academy graduates eyed the posts as if they were the enemy, dreading ever being caught._

"Oh, that's right," Kakashi stated as he watched his students. "This was the site of your very first training lesson wasn't it?" Sakura smiled at the memory and looked down at her feet as she reminisced.

"It was squad seven," she stated plainly. Sasuke too looked down.

"All three of us together as one unit," he remembered, nodding his head. Kakashi continued to watch them, his own nostalgia bringing up something else as he gazed at nothing while remembering the past.

"That's right," he agreed. "We had a certain hyper active knuckle headed ninja with us back then didn't we? We had Naruto." There was silence as everyone remembered the loud mouthed pre-teen. Sakura remembered the night that Sasuke had left first.

 _"_ _Don't leave me!" she cried as she ran after her comrade. Sasuke didn't listen as he headed out. She stopped short in a panic despite her better judgement. "If you go…I'll scream and…" Sasuke appeared behind her, a dead look in his eyes. Sakura's heart stopped._

 _"_ _Sakura," Sasuke spoke in a dead, flat tone. "Thank you…for everything." Then from out of nowhere, the young Uchiha had chopped a pressure point at the back of her neck in one swift movement, knocking her out._

 _"_ _Sasuke," the rosette let slip from her lips as she fell into unconsciousness._

Next Sakura remembered even further back to a conversation she'd had with Naruto before that fateful moment.

 _The blonde haired knuckle head sat silently next to his pink haired comrade at the Ichiraku noodle shop. He slurped his noodles nonchalantly, quieter than was normal for him as he was usually so loud. He had something heavy weighing on his mind it seemed as did Sakura his rosette partner who was barely touching her own bowl of ramen. Naruto looked back down at his own as he continued slurping._

 _"_ _So hey, if you don't start eating that, it's gonna get cold ya know," he said, drawing the kunoich's attention._

 _"_ _Hm, oh yeah, right of course," she said suddenly coming out of her stupor. "This looks delicious, mmm!" She broke apart her chop sticks to get started. The blonde smiled some but it wasn't his usual goofy grin. The time for all of that in his book was done._

 _"_ _So I guess you wanted to talk about Sasuke didn't you?" he asked causing her to lapse back into her thoughts. He waited for her to answer. Finally she spoke up feeling somewhat ashamed of herself._

 _"_ _So Naruto, I promised Sasuke not to tell you this but…" The blonde paid attention. "This is all that Orochimaru's fault. Kakashi sensei said that everything would be fine and I wish that I could believe him but…when he was fighting with Gaara and then again today, he had that same look in his eye. I don't know…what to do." she quivered with uncertainty and frustration at feeling so helpless. The blonde then wore a faraway look in his eyes as he stared into his ramen bowl._

 _"_ _Orochimaru huh?" he asked. "Yeah…I ran into him not too long ago," he stated. This caught the rosette's attention._

 _"_ _You did, but where?" she queried immediately. Naruto continued to look far away and distant. He sighed closing his eyes and bringing up the old memories._

 _"_ _When I was off searching for Grandma Tsunade," he answered. "He went up against Pervy Sage and Grandma Tsunade at the same time. He was…incredible…" he paused. "In his own sick twisted way I suppose," he added quickly. He smiled weakly but it didn't last. Sakura looked down sulkily at her meal._

 _"_ _This is not good," she declared, calling the young blonde's attention. He watched her intrigued then chuckled, turning back to his own ramen bowl and finishing it off._

 _"_ _What're you talking about?" he laughed dryly. "Everything will be fine. Just believe what Kakashi sensei said I mean…he knows best right? We should have the utmost faith in our sensei." Sakura looked at him and sighed deciding he was right. Then she finally dug into her own bowl of ramen. Naruto meanwhile continued to stare into the bowl blankly._

 _"_ _I wonder," he muttered to himself. "Maybe he's got the right idea. Why stay in a place like this when you could be free? Maybe that's where I belong." Sakura caught wind of it but couldn't understand what her teammate was talking about._

 _"_ _Huh?" she wondered calling the blonde's attention. A light smile lit his features although it was more forced. He laughed out loud like his usual self._

 _"_ _Oh it's nothing Sakura, just thinking out loud to myself," he continued laughing forcefully and Sakura could tell something was paining him but she'd never bothered to ask._

Sakura's fist clenched as she remembered how foolish she'd been back then to not see how badly Naruto had been hurting. Meanwhile Sasuke thought about his own mistakes concerning his blonde comrade with the whiskered cheeks.

 _"_ _Sasuke!" he heard someone call from behind. It was a familiar voice and he turned slowly to meet the eyes of his teammate. They were filled with pain and confusion but that didn't matter to Sasuke._

 _"_ _So it's you," he stated. "Hopeless little knucklehead."_

Then he remembered the time Kakashi Hatake had tied him to the tree and they'd had their little chat.

 _Sasuke was bound to the tree's thick trunk by some strong wire. Kakashi, his Jonin sensei stood over him holding the end of it. Sasuke gritted his teeth in rage and struggled against his bindings._

 _"_ _What's this all about?!" growled the Uchiha at his sensei. He glared daggers at the Jonin before him but Kakashi could care less._

 _"_ _Sorry," his sensei apologized sarcastically. "But I knew you wouldn't want to sit still for a lecture so…I figured I had to pin you down." The young Uchiha scoffed and rolled his eyes._

 _"Let it go," Kakashi continued. "You've got to forget about revenge." This only made the Uchiha more enraged._

 _"_ _What?" he spat out._

 _"_ _Believe me," said his sensei. "In this work I've met a lot of guys who feel the way you do. Trust me, for those who follow the path of revenge…it never ends well. You'll only tear yourself apart and even if you succeed and you get your revenge…what will you have then? Nothing; emptiness!"_

 _"_ _Shut-up!" Sasuke shouted. "What makes you think you know anything about it? It's easy for you to talk. You have no idea!"_

 _"_ _Easy…" Kakashi implied. "Just try to calm down." The young Uchiha had a dark and pained grin on his face._

 _"_ _Maybe if I was to kill the most important people in your life, everyone whose ever meant anything; maybe then I'd listen to you because maybe then you'd have some idea of how I feel!" Kakashi remained calm and lolled his head back some to think about it._

 _"_ _Hm, it's an interesting theory," he stated. Then he brought his head back down. "But I'm afraid you're a little late to put it to the test." Sasuke ground his teeth more. Then Kakashi finished his sentence with a slightly sad and fake smile on his face._

 _"Everyone you're talking about has already been killed!" This caught the young Uchiha by surprise. Then Kakashi held him in a gaze that made him look much older._

 _"_ _I've been around longer than you have kid," he said simply. "And I've seen my share of troubles. You're not the only one who knows what it's like to lose somebody." Sasuke suddenly felt guilty for what he'd said earlier._

 _"So," continued Kakashi. "It looks like neither of us has lived a charmed life exactly have we? Still…we're not all that bad off." Sasuke looked up in surprise at his sensei mixed with some confusion._

 _"_ _At least you and I have been lucky enough to find new comrades to help fill the void." Kakashi finished. "Anyway, I do know how you feel. With the chidori, you've been granted a gift of awesome power. It's not a power to be used against your comrades or to seek vengeance." Kakashi unwound the wire holding the young Uchiha in place. "I think…in your heart of hearts…you know what it's for."_

Sasuke then remembered something Naruto had said to him in the valley of the end.

 _"_ _I thought you'd be different! I thought that you would understand me but I guess I was wrong. There's no one I can trust anymore, I'm all alone! I don't even have a clan to go to or an older brother to destroy for their destruction. I have…nothing…because nobody loves a monster!"_

At this point Kakashi had somewhat returned to his reading of his new novel but when he glanced up he realized bringing up Naruto's name had had an effect equivalent to that of a strong punch. Sakura was on her hands and knees while Sasuke had sat down on the ground hugging his legs to his chest, both feeling plum right miserable thanks to the resurfaced memories. Kakashi deadpanned.

 _Whoops,_ he thought to himself. _I guess Naruto's name is taboo to these guys._ Kakashi recovered himself first and decided it was time to get things started. He pulled two familiar objects out of his right pocket and bounced them while holding them between his index finger and thumb. They made a musical jingling sound that got his two student's attention. Their eyes widened when they saw the bells from the very first test.

"Alright," Kakashi suddenly spoke up sharply. "Show me how far you've come. After all…you haven't given up on your Naruto have you?" This had the desired effect as the two young shinobi finally stood up, serious expressions on their faces.

"Not a chance!" declared Sakura.

"What do you think I've been doing all these years, sleeping?" replied Sasuke mockingly. Kakashi smiled under his mask then pocketed the bells while still holding up his book wide open.

"The rules are the same as they were that first day. I don't care how you do it…just get these bells away from me. Oh and remember…"

"If we're not prepared to kill you…" Sasuke started, interrupting.

"We won't get the bells. We know," Sakura scoffed. Kakashi chuckled to himself as he too remembered the first day.

"Exactly," he clarified. "Show no mercy if you ever hope to get these bells. You've got till sunrise tomorrow." The two Shinobi before him grinned as they readied themselves for battle. Sasuke loosened some of his bandages around his arms then reached back to tighten his headband.

"I sure hope you're not going to be reading that stupid book of yours the entire time," Sasuke stated nonchalantly. "Kakashi!" Sakura meanwhile pulled out a pair of somewhat faded black gloves and pulled them onto her hands.

"Oh I'm sure he'll try if he hasn't finished it already," Sakura taunted. "Either way, let's give him a reason to pay attention to us...alright Sasuke?" Sasuke continued grinning.

"Heh, right," he agreed. Kakashi smirked under his mask and pocketed his book in his pouch.

"Actually, I haven't quite finished the book but I think I'll save that little pleasure for later," he stated. "Besides, I've got a feeling I'd better keep on my toes. It's a whole new ball game." He reached up towards his crooked headband that was covering one of his eyes.

"This time…it's serious!" he finished as he pulled his headband up to reveal his sharingan eye. And all three prepared for combat as the unseen spectators took up their desired positions on the sidelines.

* * *

 ** _Meanwhile, near a secret hideout_**

 ** _Far away from Konohagakure…_**

She moved as fast as a flying serpent through the trees of the forest, tearing the unsuspecting leaves she passed by to shreds and stirring up flocks of nesting birds. Her night black hair mixed with streaks of crimson blood red and venomous green trailed behind her, long and beautiful glinting in the light of the high noon sun.

Eventually she came to a clearing where there was a hole in the ground, a swirling snake pattern surrounding it and backed by a short wall. She was home at last or a least, her temporary home. Although she'd reached her destination, she didn't slow down as she dove head first into the hole and flew down the many twisting and turning corridors until she came to a sudden halt, kicking up dust before a pair of double doors that stood tall and proud for an underground chamber. She grinned as she pushed them open with her two hands, biting her lip as she entered the room.

Inside it was large and in the center there was a rather large table where at the end of this table, sitting at its head, two golden serpentine eyes opened, reflecting her own serpentine eyes and a figure moved out from behind the large back of the chair. She could sense the grin from the person who occupied that chair and she herself couldn't help but grin as well. The two double doors finished shutting automatically behind her and after she straightened herself to her full height she strolled to the other end of the table and bowed before her master.

"Viper," he stated her name. "I see that you're back. I trust you have valuable news." She who was named Viper grinned.

"If I didn't do you think I would've boldly announced my presence as so? Of course I have information." She spoke back. The man then stood and approached her as she rose to her feet once more. His complexion was pale, his hair was long and black and he looked as though he could be a snake combined with a man. He was the infamous Orochimaru, one of the legendary Sanin of the Hidden Leaf who'd defected many years ago.

"Very well then, what news do you bring?" he queried. The serpentine woman grinned, looking him in the eye very unafraid.

"Well for starters my lord, I thought you'd like to know that all of our other bases are doing well and Karin is doing a rather good job on her end in her new position," Viper stated. She began playing with her hair, twirling it around her finger, a habit she'd developed for when she got bored.

"Then," she continued. "There's something even more intriguing that I believe we should discuss. It seems as though our old friends, the Akatsuki are coming out of the woodworks and have chosen now as their time to strike and capture the many tailed beasts of our world. So far, the intel I've gathered indicates that they've sent Deidara and Sasori to the Hidden sand to retrieve the Shukaku." Orochimaru brought his hand up to his face, cupping his chin within it in a thinking manner.

"My, my, now this is troublesome," he stated solemnly. "Whatever shall we do? If we plan to keep Naruto here with us any longer we'll need to think up counter measures immediately. Not that there's anything to worry about at the moment after all, the sound village isn't close to the sand village. That's all the way in the land of wind." Another man slipped out of the shadows from behind Orochimaru, a man who wore big round glasses, a standardized village uniform for the Sound Village and he had his silver hair tied back in a spiky ponytail.

"If the Akatsuki are acting now, we'll have to keep on the down low from now on won't we Lord Orochimaru? After all we can't risk them finding Naruto here now can we?"

"Hm no definitely not; especially since he hasn't even mastered his kekei genkai yet. He's only recently awakened it. We need more time. Very well, we'll have to stay on high alert at all times and prepare the boy for a possible confrontation. I want all sound ninja informed to keep an eye open for our red cloud emblazoned black cloaked friends. Viper dear…see to it the boy knows and monitor his kekei genkai's strength for me will you? I doubt it'll be ready in time before I need a new vessel so I'll require a new body. Kabuto I'd like for you to search one out for me, one that's stronger than this one."

"Of course my Lord, I'll leave as soon as possible," Kabuto bowed in respect then backed away and left the room. Orochimaru then turned to Viper.

"Now…let us see how our young pupil is doing today," he stated as he stood then started to leave the room. Viper grinned maliciously.

"Right!" she replied. "I assume I'll be the one who has to debrief him on the Akatsuki's abilities?"

"Quite right," Orochimaru confirmed as they exited the room and began trekking through the many corridors leading towards the training arena. "However, I wonder if we might be able to manipulate the five great nations into taking care of a few members themselves." Viper snickered.

"Oh please, that old teammate of yours Jiraiya is already spreading the word throughout the allied nations while he's trying to search for our student. We both know that the leaf isn't just going to sit idly by and allow one of their greatest weapons be controlled by a couple of snakes such as ourselves. They'll bring him back by force if necessary even though they'll just treat him poorly again and keep him in the village as a prisoner. Those poor fools have no idea what he's truly capable of though; they have no idea that he has awakened the long forgotten Uzumaki bloodline trait. They won't take him with ease and he doesn't even need our help." Orochimaru laughed his usual chilling laugh as they turned another corridor.

"Indeed and who would've ever thought that he'd be far more useful to me then that Uchiha brat. I must commend you Viper for warping his young mind and bringing him here in place of Sasuke. Once his kekei genkai has reached fruition, my endless body hopping days will finally be over and I'll not only be immortal in soul but I'll also have an immortal body that's my very own. Who needs the sharingan of the Uchiha when you can have the forbidden techniques of the Uzumaki instead?" he cackled and Viper couldn't help but grin.

"Yes that's exactly right my lord. I'll bet that no one even knew of this technique when the clan was all but wiped out years ago in the third great shinobi war. They were wise to keep it under lock and key. I can only imagine what might've happened if some vengeance seeking Uzumaki had found them before I had. That could've been a disaster."

"I agree. Nevertheless, I still thank you for your loyalty and the discovery of the Uzumaki clan's secrets. Now let us stop speaking of that. We are nearing the training arena." And with that two more large stone doors were opened in front of them automatically and they stepped through to see that the test subjects that'd been forced to fight were being tossed about and turned into a bloody tossed salad. It all happened so quickly and none could react to the young blonde's precise attacks.

From their place above the arena, Orochimaru and Viper watched as Naruto Uzumaki made short comings of his opponents. After a bit Orochimaru sighed.

"If he continues on like this…I'll have run out of test subjects for my research," he complained. Viper gave him a sly smile as she watched the spectacle and chuckled dryly.

"Well what did you expect? He's running out of good opponents who can give him a challenge. He doesn't want to hold back but with these so called test subjects it's quite pointless to go all out. It's quite sad actually. Maybe we should let him take on an Akatsuki or two? It would at least keep him happy enough not to complain so much." Orochimaru grinned.

"Well then, shall we?" he inquired as he made his way down to the bottom level indicating for Viper to follow so they could tell the blonde about the new developments. As they approached they had to duck as one guy who'd tried to attack the blonde from behind using the curse mark was sent spiraling into the wall. Orochimaru then whistled, calling the young boy's attention. The blonde looked up from what he was doing.

"Naruto my boy; why don't you take a little break? We need to discuss some important matters with you." Naruto nodded then as another few guys tried to jump him he didn't even turn around as his Chokuto blade came up above his head to counter their own weapons. They were stopped immediately and the boy stared at Orochimaru an unamused look on his face.

"Fine," he sighed. "This was getting boring anyway. I seriously need some better competition." Viper gave her master a side glance.

"What'd I tell you?" she asked mockingly. Orochimaru ignored her and waited for Naruto to dispatch the guys who'd jumped him which he did easily by simply turning about in a perfect leg sweep that was too fast to dodge and as they were free falling onto their backs, he went about again with his leg higher this time, kicking them back across the room and into the walls, knocking them all unconscious in the process.

Afterwards he stretched to the ceiling and then sheathed his sword after knocking off the blood it'd drawn in one swift swipe. Then he pulled his red long sleeved shirt back on from where it'd lain limply behind him as he'd fought. Then he quietly followed his two masters over to where he'd set his water canteen earlier. As he took a swig, he also dumped some of it on his head to cool down from the fight then turned to face both Orochimaru and Viper.

"So…" he started, catching his breath. "What'd you want to see me about?" Orochimaru grinned as Viper took a seat next to Naruto on the three-D stone snake carving that was indented into the wall. She took the tip of the snake's tail.

"Well it's quite simple really," Orochimaru stated. "You see, the Akatsuki are finally making their move on the jinchuriki hosts for the tailed beasts. They've already sent someone after the Shukaku." Naruto took this into thought and scoffed.

"Alright and let me guess you're here to make sure I play it safe, is that it?" he asked somewhat scathingly. In all truth, Naruto hated feeling like he was being babied by anyone and he didn't like the idea of the option of staying inside until the whole thing blew over. However, Orochimaru wasn't like that. He grinned again and chuckled.

"Quite the contrary my boy," he almost cooed. "I just came to let you know is all. In the meantime, I want you to go over all of the data I've collected on them over the years along with Viper and should you come across them in our travels I'd like you to take them out for me. As for keeping you safe well that's what all of this training has been for and more. I'm not going to tell you to stay inside because it'd be a waste of your talents and besides, weren't you just complaining a moment ago that you didn't have anyone good to fight against?" The blonde was barely paying attention anymore as the prospect of destroying the Akatsuki brought a twisted smile to his face.

"Heh, very well then," he said standing up now. "I'll get right on it, researching that is. It'll be too fun to make an example out of them all before we destroy the leaf village. Sounds interesting," he said as he glanced back over his shoulder, his cerulean eyes blazing with excitement, a malicious grin tugging at the corners of his mouth. Then he walked away towards where his room was located and disappeared behind the big double doors. Orochimaru grinned after him.

"That boy truly is our diamond in the rough," he complimented. Meanwhile Viper took a glance at Orochimaru's back with her own grin playing across her features. She laughed internally to herself.

 _Oh but that my friend is where you're wrong,_ she thought. _Soon, he'll be all mine. You see Orochimaru while this boy possesses the unique ability to complete your transformation into an immortal being, he also possesses the unique ability to destroy you when I desire and not only that but once his kekei genkai has fully matured and I've transformed him into the ten tails jinchuriki…then he'll use his kekei genkai combined with Kaguya's own strength to destroy that wretch once and for all and free my true master in the process to rule over this world. And when the brat dies along with Kaguya, I'll have obtained his kekei genkai for myself and together with my master and his army we shall begin to reign over the eighty eight realms with no one to stand in our way._

Suddenly Orochimaru felt a more ominous presence behind him and he turned to see Viper staring off into space.

"Is everything alright…Viper?" he queried suspiciously, not trusting the look in her eyes. Viper suddenly returned to where she was at the moment, shaking her head and then walking past Orochimaru to leave.

"Oh no Lord Orochimaru," she said as she passed him. She flickered from the bottom floor and ended up near the double doors. As she walked out she said with a malicious grin on her face and an evil glint in her eyes that Orochimaru couldn't see from behind. "Everything…is just fine!"

* * *

 **AN:** Just wanted to say that yes, I have decided to give Naruto a bloodline trait. His bloodline trait however is not related to Sasuke's and has a higher value to Orochimaru because it is based on the Uzumaki clan's ridiculously strong life forces and their ability to seal living souls inside of other living things. Therefore it is more related to the life force theme and can help Orochimaru achieve a perfect body that won't reject him ever and he can become a true immortal. The name of the new Kekei Genkai will be released in one of the up coming chapters along with a description of what it does and how it works. So stay tuned for what's coming up next and I hope you're enjoying the story so far. Also don't forget to check out my other stories as well...if you're interested that is.

Sincerely,

 ** _Almine_**


	3. Chapter 2 (Memories on Bells)

**_Chapter 2_**

 ** _(Memories on Bells)_**

"Alright…start," Kakashi declared as he disappeared in a puff of smoke. Sasuke and Sakura readied themselves immediately for an attack. They looked all around for their sensei but couldn't find him anywhere.

"Hiding is he?" Sasuke muttered to himself. Sakura stood just a few paces ahead of him. She remained silent as she looked around for their sensei. _Right?_ She wondered as she looked to her right. _Above?_ She looked now up to the sky. _Left?_ She turned her head slightly to face left. _Behind?_ She turned around to face the empty training ground. The sun was setting now, beginning to cast shadows. Meanwhile Sasuke came up behind her.

"He's probably below," he stated remembering all too well how the last time he'd fallen prey to the head hunter jutsu that had literally grounded him during their first test. Sakura nodded.

"Yeah, I was thinking along the same lines," she agreed. She clenched her hands into fists. "Sasuke, I'd stand back now if I were you." Sasuke gave her a questioning look as he stepped back some. Sakura then brought her fist down upon the Earth with a yell escaping her as her fist connected with the ground. Upon contact the entire ground split open and began to shake as some dirt and rocks flew up. Being so close, Sasuke lost his balance, a look of total utter shock on his face as he beheld his comrade's monstrous strength.

 _Is this…the same Sakura as before?_ He thought worriedly as some perspiration rolled down his forehead. He just couldn't believe it. Meanwhile Kakashi who'd been underground as predicted also wore a shocked face.

 _What ridiculous strength!_ He thought shakily. _So it looks like the fifth hokage's been teaching her more than just medical ninjutsu._ Sakura's grin widened. She called out to her sensei.

"Kakashi sensei," she called. Kakashi was pulled from his thoughts as he faced the rosette in front of him. "Found you didn't I?" she teased. Meanwhile Sasuke stood up to admire his teammate's handy work.

 _Maybe I should start listening to the old toadstool and start paying attention to what girls like and don't like because if I slip up with her…I'm pretty sure she could kill me!_ He thought to himself warily. Meanwhile Jiraiya was watching from his position in one of the nearby trees.

"The same quick temper and monster strength," he spoke to himself. "Tsunade's turned Sakura into a mirror image of herself."

Kakashi had now leapt up onto the top of the shattered ground. He quickly came to the conclusion that Sakura could very well become even more powerful than the fifth hokage. While he was thinking this, he sensed someone suddenly behind him and turned in time to see that Sasuke had appeared at his back, ready to throw some shuriken. Kakashi had barely enough time to leap away but Sasuke was faster and he let fly his shuriken which found their marks all over Kakashi's body despite him shielding himself. Sasuke grinned.

"Wasn't it you who said to never let your opponent get behind you?" he asked smugly. However, before he had time to celebrate for long, there was puff of smoke which revealed a log full of shuriken in Kakashi's place. _Damn it, not again!_ Sasuke mentally berated himself and he leapt away just as quickly as he'd appeared behind Kakashi as an onslaught of shuriken and kunai were launched in his direction. He turned and fended them all off immediately with his own kunai knife and landed back beside Sakura. They held him in their sights trying to think up what to do next.

 _Sakura's grown stronger,_ Kakashi thought to himself. _And Sasuke…he's faster. They've definitely got the potential to surpass their masters. But let's see just how far they can go. You both had your turn but now it's my turn!_ Kakashi threw some more smoke bombs, creating a screen for himself and then disappeared into the trees.

"He's escaping into the forest," Sasuke yelled out to Sakura. Sakura coughed away the smoke while covering her nose.

"I know, I saw him," she replied. The two then took off into the woods to find their sensei. A few minutes later Kakashi was still running away from them, thinking of a counter strategy. He wound up hiding behind a bush and observing the surrounding area with his sharingan. He was able to pinpoint Sasuke's location first. The teen genin was concealed behind a wide tree trunk in the distance. Then Kakashi did a head swivel and pinpointed Sakura's location. She too hid behind a tree but in the opposite direction. They pretty much had him surrounded.

 _Good,_ he thought. _The first thing a shinobi must learn is how to conceal his presence and remain hidden. This is completely different from that time before._ Kakashi remembered back to when Naruto was still with them at the first test.

 _"_ _Ninja must know how to conceal their movements and hide effectively," Kakashi explained to the empty clearing. Meanwhile the rosette Sakura and the Uchiha, Sasuke had both hidden their presences as they'd already known what to do. Kakashi looked around scratching the back of his head._

 _"_ _Well they understand that much, they've hidden well." he then muttered to himself. Then he felt a presence right in front of him. He looked up confused until he saw Naruto Uzumaki standing right in front of him with his arms crossed over his chest and his eyes full of determination._

 _"_ _You and me right now fair and square! Let's go!" declared the young blonde whiskered boy. Kakashi cocked an unamused eyebrow._

 _"_ _You know, compared to the others you're a bit…weird," he stated._

It wasn't too long after those memories that Kakashi had to jump out of the way of some on coming kunai knives coming from Sasuke's direction. Once he was in midair the raven haired boy attacked quickly and Kakashi had to pick up his own speed just so he wouldn't get skewered. He was able to only just avoid it. Once Sasuke had passed, Kakashi had whirled around to throw some of his own kunai but Sasuke was out of the way in the blink of an eye and the kunai became lodged in a tree branch. Kakashi landed on the other side of the clearing as he saw Sakura come out of hiding to stand beside a now visible Sasuke. Kakashi stood up straight then got into an offensive stance.

"Time for today's lesson," he stated sternly. "This is shinobi battle skills rule number one. Taijutsu!" he declared. Then he raced forward, this time ready to match or at least attempt to match Sasuke's new found speed. He attacked with a right hook first and then the Uchiha's and the sensei's speed became so great that Sakura couldn't quite keep up but was still able to dodge when Kakashi sent a surprise blow her way before turning back to Sasuke. Sasuke eventually leapt up off the ground and found his footing on a high up tree branch.

Kakashi's eyes followed the Uchiha but now it was Sakura's turn. She charged forth gaining her own speed and raised her gloved fist.

"Gotchya!" she yelled as she threw her first punch then continued with her onslaught of lethal punches as Kakashi backpedaled, dodging every one for dear life. "Just need one shot!" she told herself as her punches grew faster and more focused. Kakashi became ever wary of her picking up speed.

"It won't do any good if you can't hit me," he stated. He suddenly backed into a tree and just barely managed to escape Sakura's next blow which splintered the poor tree and took it right off of its trunk. The tree then fell towards the forest ground and Sakura turned to face her sensei again. Next Sasuke made his own move.

Using Sakura's attack as a distraction, Sasuke had wasted no time in setting up a trap for their sensei. Sasuke came at him now, with a roundhouse first which was easily blocked, then another from the other leg which was also blocked then as Kakashi let go, Sasuke spun in midair so that he could bring down a high kick upon his sensei's head who expertly leapt backwards…into the trap.

Sasuke grinned as wires sprang up catching a surprised Kakashi off guard. Meanwhile, Sasuke held the other ends of the wires within his mouth. Then he quickly performed some hand signs and called out his techniques as he went to execute it. **_"_** ** _Fire Style: Fireball jutsu!"_**

A jet of flames was shot out of the Uchiha's mouth and along the wires where they were to meet their mark. Sakura stood there and fist pumped the air.

"Nice!" she complimented her teammate as the fireball jutsu made contact with…

" ** _Earth Style: Earth-Style Wall!_** " they heard the jonin exclaim. The two shinobi came to attention as they witnessed not only Kakashi breaking his arms free from the wires but him performing hand signs at lightning speed too. As his hands hit the ground, an immediate wall burst up, blocking Kakashi from the fireball's aim. The fireball hit it and dispersed as soon as it ran out of fuel.

"Damn it!" Sasuke grumbled. Before he had time to plan his next move though, he felt something grab his ankle from below. "What!" he exclaimed as Kakashi spoke up from underground.

"Hey, remember this one," he teased as he started pulling his student underground with him. "Headhunter jutsu!" Sasuke soon found himself buried with his head sticking up out of the ground just like the time before. Kakashi approached him as he struggled.

"I must commend you on setting yet another elaborate trap Sasuke," he stated. "But it seems it also proved to be your downfall as well." Sasuke suddenly grinned.

"Oh really?" he taunted. "Have you forgotten who you're dealing with sensei?" Suddenly there was a screeching sound coming from behind him and Kakashi looked up to see another Sasuke racing down the side of a tree and leaping off near the bottom right at his sensei. Meanwhile the Sasuke who'd been towed underground poofed into thin air leaving Kakashi wide open for an attack.

" ** _Chidori!_** " Sasuke roared as he brought his wildly sparking hand up to hit Kakashi's midsection but Kakashi dodged just in time and the attack was ultimately grounded, quite literally. Kakashi was keeping his eyes on the Uchiha now as he stood and almost had his head taken off by a well-aimed kick from Sakura on high.

"Cha!" she shouted as she drew closer. Kakashi dodged again and Sakura's attack hit another tree, completely splintering it and sending it crashing down into the rest of the forest. She stood up again as Sasuke came up beside her readying for their next attack while Kakashi watched them carefully whilst breathing heavier.

 _I remember when this used to be a lot easier,_ he sighed internally to himself. Another memory of when his students used to be younger came to his mind.

 _"_ _I'm going to crush you!" Naruto bellowed as he ran forth and threw a punch to Kakashi's temple with all of his might. However Kakashi just stood there reading his book and easily blocked all of the blows the blonde preteen could throw his way._

 _"_ _Grrr, now you're mine," declared the blonde as another punch flew but this time Kakashi vanished completely from his sights leaving him befuddled and confused. Suddenly Kakashi's voice spoke up from behind him._

 _"_ _Don't let your enemy get behind you all the time," the Jonin told him. He'd already prepared his technique. Naruto quickly turned his head in time to see Kakashi executing his next move. "_ _ **Leaf village secret finger jutsu!**_ _"_ _the Jonin called out as he planted his folded together hand's index and middle fingers hard into the blonde's rear. "_ _ **A thousand years of death!**_ _"_ _And he sent him flying._

 _Afterwards he'd found his pink haired student rushing through the trees trying to escape him. All the while she was thinking of her beloved Sasuke and praying that Kakashi hadn't gotten him too like he'd done with Naruto. She suddenly stopped, catching a glimpse of her sensei reading his book and backpedaled behind a bush thinking with relief that it was good he hadn't heard her. However, the Jonin was already right behind her._

 _"_ _Pst! Sakura," he whispered, "Behind you." Sakura turned to come face to face with her sensei and let out a scream of surprise. Then after he'd dealt with her, he'd gone off to deal with the Uchiha boy._

 _"_ _I'm not like Sakura and Naruto," the Uchiha stated dryly to his sensei who now stood propped up against a tree behind him still reading his novel._

 _"_ _Say that after you get one of these bells," his sensei countered. Sasuke turned around to face his sensei, a dead serious look upon his face. Then he reached behind and threw a few kunai and shuriken at Kakashi which he expertly dodged._

 _"_ _There's no point using normal attacks," Kakashi taunted. The Uchiha grinned then threw another kunai into the trees to cut the rope holding the rest of them back._

 _"_ _A trap!" Kakashi realized and dodged the many kunai that were thrown at him allowing them to hit the tree trunk. Sasuke then used his speed to appear beside his sensei and threw a kick at him which his sensei then blocked with his forearms in the horse stance. Kakashi then grabbed a hold of his foot._

 _Sasuke didn't give up though as he immediately twisted his body to throw a punch towards Kakashi's face but once again Kakashi blocked his attack. Sasuke's other leg came up now to try and kick Kakashi's crown and Kakashi, still holding onto the boy's ankle and arm brought his forearm up to block the third attempt. Then Sasuke was in the ideal position as he grinned and reached for one of the bells._

 _Kakashi immediately saw what he was doing and let go, pushing himself off of the ground and leaping away from the Uchiha._ _ **This kid,**_ _Kakashi thought._ _ **He's fierce. Humph, I won't be able to read Make Out Paradise now.**_

 _"_ _Well, you are different from the other two, I'll grant you that," Kakashi stated. Suddenly Sasuke took up a stance and began weaving hand signs. Kakashi's eyes widened._

 _"_ _ **Horse! Tiger! Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!**_ _"_ _he called out._

 _"_ _What?!" Kakashi exclaimed. "Genin can't do fire jutsu. It takes too much chakra. There's no way!" Suddenly Kakashi was dodging a massive fireball as it came his way. He frantically tunneled underground and out of sight. Sasuke's eyes widened as he realized the sensei was gone._

 _ **Where'd he go?**_ _Sasuke wondered frantically._ _ **Behind me? Above?**_

 _"_ _Where?" a mocking voice said from under his feet. Suddenly a gloved hand shot forth from under the ground, grabbing Sasuke's ankle in the process and catching the raven haired preteen by surprise. "I'm where you least expect me!" And with that, Kakashi pulled the unsuspecting genin under the dirt up to his neck, leaving his head sticking out of the ground like a nail. Kakashi then stood over his student mockingly._

 _"_ _Right under your feet. Earth Style: headhunter jutsu." he explained. Sasuke tried to struggle free. "Can't move huh? That was ninjutsu, the third shinobi battle skill. You have talent and you were right, you are…different from the others but…different isn't always better. They say the nail that sticks up is the one that gets hammered down." And with that Kakashi pulled his book out again and started reading._

 _Even though they've been apart for two years, their teamwork is still pretty good,_ Kakashi thought to himself. He suddenly thought of his new book just sitting in wait for him in his back pouch. _Although I was hoping to find out how this next volume ends._ He straightened up some as he saw Sasuke shift into a new position, a sly grin on his face and one upon Sakura's features as well.

"Alright then," he started. "I'm not sure how many I can produce but I'll give it a shot with just a few but I'll also activate my eyes." Kakashi's eyes widened as Sasuke's own sharingan now fully matured activated and Sasuke made the hand sign for a familiar technique.

"No way!" Kakashi exclaimed, realizing what Sasuke was about to do.

" ** _Shadow Clone Jutsu!_** " Sasuke called out. At least a dozen clones appeared, surrounding Kakashi and as he looked around he realized that they were all solid clones with the sharingan in their possession. Kakashi began to perspire as he realized that he might be in trouble. All of the Sasuke's grinned. Kakashi sighed, getting his own sharingan more prepared for battle.

"Alright, come on then!" he said, taking up a defensive stance. All at once, the many Sasuke's yelled out as they attacked and converged on their sensei, sharingan's ablaze. Kakashi was barely able to keep up with them. Despite there being much less than Naruto's usual amount, Kakashi still knew it'd be a pain since they were incredibly fast. As soon as Kakashi had a moment he brought his hands up to make his own hand signs.

"Well, if that's all you've got Sasuke, I hate to break it to you but two can play that game. **_Shadow Clone Jutsu!_** " Kakashi said and just like that, a dozen or so Kakashi's popped up out of the woodworks to compensate for the dozen or so speedy Sasuke's barreling down on him. A few on each side began to go poof as some took heavier attacks than others. Then Sasuke shouted out.

"Now Sakura!" Kakashi's eyes widened as he realized he'd lost sight of the rosette yet again and then from out of nowhere, the girl's fist crashed into the ground and made it shatter and quake, making several more Kakashi's and Sasuke's disperse. The real Kakashi leapt out of the way and looked about. There weren't many of either's clones left and the real one could've already gotten away.

"What a pain," he sighed, still looking about and staying on his guard. "Looks like I won't have time for reading." Meanwhile Tsunade, Shizune and Jiraiya remained watching from the peanut gallery. They enjoyed watching their favourite students go up against Kakashi and they could tell that things were just getting started.

A little while later, after the clones had dispersed and Sasuke and Sakura had determined Kakashi had slipped away, they were walking through the forest of the training grounds, the sun having already set well beyond the horizon. The stars sparkled up above but they couldn't stop to admire them. They only had until sunrise.

"The last time I heard the bells, they came from this direction," Sasuke stated. Sakura nodded.

"Yeah but he might've let us hear them on purpose to draw us in so we have to be careful." Sasuke nodded in agreement.

"Right, we can't forget that we're dealing with Kakashi," he replied as they continued on through the woods. Suddenly they felt something strange and saw something coming into shape in the distance by a tree. They stopped to see what it was and their eyes widened as a familiar blonde haired kid came into view. It was Naruto and he was hurt badly with kunai and everything sticking out of his body.

The boy looked up weakly, barely able to stand. He breathed shallowly and his body was covered with blood and bruises. There were some tears in his eyes as he leaned against the trunk of a tree for support.

"Naruto!" Sasuke exclaimed, taking in the sight. He clenched his fists

"He looks…really hurt," Sakura stated sadly.

"Sakura, Sasuke," he said as he came forward gritting through the pain. "You've gotta help me. I thought I'd be happier outside of the leaf but Orochimaru hates me more than the village. He…tried to kill me. Please…you're my teammates…save me." A silent tear fell from Sakura's eyes as Sasuke grit his teeth.

"Too bad he's not real," Sakura said sadly. She closed her eyes and looked away. "I'd give almost anything to be able to talk to the real Naruto; to hear his boisterous laughter and see his big goofy grin again. He always made me laugh when I was feeling down." Sasuke looked down at his feet.

"Yeah," he agreed solemnly. Sakura breathed in and out then brought her hands up to form a sign.

"Release!" she commanded and the genjutsu disappeared. She opened her eyes more determined. "I don't wanna play with your illusions!" Sasuke grinned and struck out, streaking across the field a surprising jutsu taking form in his hand. He struck out at the tree he knew Kakashi was behind thanks to his sharingan and the tree exploded.

" ** _Rasengan!_** " he yelled. Both Kakashi's and Sakura's eyes widened as the Uchiha executed Naruto's signature jutsu. Meanwhile, in the peanut gallery, Tsunade turned a skeptical glare at Jiraiya as he grinned widely and chuckled. He glanced down and shrugged.

"What," he asked innocently. "He asked." Tsunade turned her gaze back to the battle field. Kakashi had avoided being hit by the lethal attack.

"Where'd you learn that?" he asked in surprise. Sasuke grinned.

"Where do you think? Truth be told, mine's not as strong as Naruto's but it can sure pack a wallop." Sakura who'd come out of her daze, came up beside him.

"Wow, that's amazing Sasuke," she stated. Then she turned to Kakashi, a triumphant smirk on her face. "Well Kakashi sensei? Is there something you wanted to say? I'm not exactly sure I heard you clearly before." Kakashi sighed feeling older than he really was.

"Shinobi battle techniques part two," he said, his voice cracking some. "Genjutsu!" Again he remembered a time when his job was a lot easier.

 _Kakashi made a hand sign and all of a sudden many leaves flew up in the air. Sakura stood there as if in a trance for a while. Then she shook herself out of it and looked around for her sensei who'd disappeared._

 _"_ _Oh my," she said in a panic, looking about frantically. "Is someone there? I think I felt something, what was it? What's going on?" There was a rustling of leaves and a familiar voice could be heard behind her._

 _"_ _Sakura," it said slightly in pain. Sakura's features lit up. She turned around excited to see her crush was all right._

 _"_ _Sasuke!" she shouted in glee but as she saw him, she was horrified to see him on the ground on his hands and knees while covered with kunai protruding from his back and blood. He groaned in pain._

 _"_ _Agh! S-Sakura," he spoke. "H-help me, please help me," he pleaded. Sakura took in the sight, immediate shock and horror taking her over until finally she let out a very high pitched scream and then fainted._

As Kakashi tiredly looked at her now he thought to himself, _it was so much easier to fool her back then._ Meanwhile Sakura just grinned.

"You'll have to come up with something better than that," she stated. "If you think we're going to fall for that old trick again, you're crazy!" Sasuke came up beside her, his own grin back.

"Heh yeah! Got anything new? I'm getting bored already!" he said mockingly. Kakashi grinned as well refusing to let them see him as an old man.

"I'd be careful what you wish for," he warned. "You never know what an opponent might do next." Something gleamed from the ground, catching the moonlight. The two ninjas glanced down seeing both the bells on the ground and shimmering tauntingly in the evening. However, both of them remembered when Naruto had fallen for the same trap back on their first test. Sasuke checked them out with his sharingan and could tell that they were the real deal as was the rope waiting to catch someone's unsuspecting foot its loop. Sasuke looked up again.

"You don't think we'd fall for something as simple as that do you?" he scoffed. He took up a stance and pulled out a kunai, readying himself for his next move.

"Who knows," replied Kakashi also taking up his own stance and drawing one of his own kunai. "It might. You can see for yourself Sasuke that those are indeed the real bells." After a few moments of pause, Sasuke acted, throwing his kunai straight at the trap and pulling out another one. He charged forth as his first kunai set off the trap and Kakashi came forward too to retrieve the bells. Sasuke was faster though and was almost upon them

However, Kakashi had thought one step ahead of him and he stopped running entirely, grinning under his mask as he tugged on the wire he'd attached to the strings connecting the bells, pulling them right out from under Sasuke at the last minute. Sasuke's eyes widened as he realized he'd been had and his momentum already carrying him forward, brought him crashing down to the ground. Kakashi then reclaimed the bells then turned to leave only looking back over his shoulder for a second.

"Well Sasuke…was it new enough for you?" he asked mockingly with a chuckle and with that, he was gone. Sasuke slammed his fist into the ground in frustration.

"Damn it!" he cursed. Sakura meanwhile just sighed and shook her head as she thought of the more trouble they'd have to go through to get the bells. Then she walked up beside her comrade.

"Hey, don't get too frustrated okay? It'll only work to his advantage," she stated placing a gentle hand upon his shoulder. Sasuke took a deep breath, nodding in agreement. He stood back up.

"Alright then, let's go get him," he said. She nodded in reply and they ran off into the forest. A bit later as Sasuke and Sakura searched for their sensei, some kunai came flying at Sasuke from out of nowhere. Sasuke dodged them all and then leapt now knowing where Kakashi was and sent a round of shuriken in his direction causing the sensei to change position.

Sasuke charged in and tried to take him by surprise but it didn't work as Kakashi knocked him out by whacking him in the back of the head. However this Sasuke went poof. Kakashi's eyes widened. _A distraction!_ He concluded as Sakura came flying out of the trees, her fist emanating with chakra as she came down upon him from above. _If that even touches me, I'm done for._ Kakashi thought to himself giving himself enough time to leap out of the way. Sakura's fist met the ground and tore it up like the time before.

Kakashi ran but he couldn't shake his pursuers. Sasuke and Sakura caught up with him in no time. When they did, they'd made it back to the river where Kakashi stopped then turned to face them as they stopped a little ways away, readying for another attack. Kakashi narrowed his eyes as he came to a decision.

"Alright then," he said. "Shinobi battle skill rule number three…ninjutsu!" he suddenly shouted. Then Kakashi leapt back and began weaving hand signs at the speed of light. The two ninjas before him gaped in astonishment. Even Sasuke wasn't that fast.

 _The speed of his hand signs!_ Sakura thought to herself in awe. Meanwhile Sasuke wore a similar expression.

 _No way, my sharingan can't even keep up with him,_ Sasuke thought astounded. Finally Kakashi finished and brought one hand up to his mouth. Sasuke's eyes widened even more as he realized which jutsu Kakashi was about to execute.

" ** _Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!_** " Exclaimed Kakashi and giant fireball was formed immediately and was sent in the direction of the teen ninjas across from him. They leapt out of the way just in time as the giant ball of flame roared past. They skidded to a halt on their respective sides. When they looked back at the spot they'd leapt from, there was a huge trench in its place and Kakashi was gone. Sasuke looked about trying to find their sensei with his sharingan.

 _Damn it,_ he cursed himself internally. "Where the hell did he go?" he mumbled to himself. Suddenly a hand shot up from underneath him and grabbed his ankle. Kakashi pulled him down while calling out,

" ** _Earth Style: Headhunter Jutsu!_** " and just like that, Sasuke was buried once again. Kakashi leapt up to see the teen wasn't even struggling. Suddenly there was a poof and once the dust cleared, Kakashi saw that he'd been fooled by a substitution jutsu.

"Over this way Sakura!" he heard the young Uchiha call out as he and the rosette converged on Kakashi's location. Kakashi narrowed his eyes once more and leapt back onto the surface of the water. Once again he weaved hand signs at a ridiculous speed.

" ** _Water Style: Water Dragon Jutsu!_** " Kakashi yelled out as Sasuke and Sakura came into view. The teen ninjas didn't have time to dodge it this time and they were hit and pushed back by the sudden onslaught of water. Sasuke however, was able to reach the surface quickly and leapt out, enabling himself to use his chakra to hold himself on top of it. He heard a gasp for air nearby and turned to see Sakura struggling against the heavy torrent.

"Sakura!" he exclaimed as he leapt to her aid. Sasuke pulled his pink haired companion out of the water and remained standing on its surface, deciding it best for the two to retreat for a while until they could come up with a strategy. Meanwhile, Kakashi remained in the clearing panting heavily, clearly having used up a considerable amount of chakra in the process of executing the two massive jutsus.

A little later, Sakura was back on her feet, leaping from branch to branch alongside Sasuke who suddenly let out an exasperated yell.

"Gah! Fire style, earth style and water style. Kakashi sensei sure is proving to be a pain," he grumbled. Sakura had to agree with her teammate. Their sensei was proving to be much more difficult than when they'd all been starting out as genin.

"Well, they don't call him the copy ninja for nothing," she stated. "He's definitely letting us see his true colours by giving us a lesson to show us how good he really is."

"Yeah," Sasuke agreed still annoyed. They continued their trek through the trees until they came to a spot for some rest and quick recuperation. To be extra safe, they hid themselves behind a rather wide tree's trunk. Sakura sat down, back against the tree, panting from the exertion. Sasuke meanwhile did a quick sweep of the area with his sharingan to ensure they were truly alone. They remained silent for a while longer. Sakura set her head back against the trunk and looked up at the stars.

"I shouldn't be surprised but…" she started. "He definitely knows how to use that sharingan of his doesn't he?" Sasuke nodded.

"Yeah, and his hand signs are so fast that my own sharingan is having some difficulty keeping up. But then again, I've had it activated for a while now so…" he calmly deactivated his sharingan and sighed in relief. Over using it could sometimes give him a headache. Sakura was confused.

"Sasuke, why'd you turn off your own sharingan?" she wondered. "Wouldn't it be wiser to keep it going until he's defeated?" Sasuke chuckled.

"It definitely would make things easier wouldn't it?" he replied. "However, I don't want to become so dependent on my sharingan that I need it in every battle. The old Toadstool told me I should practice some restraint and use some of my natural power as well instead of relying on the sharingan because truth be told…it can put a huge strain on my other senses and my chakra if activated for too long and I have yet to fully understand the full extent of the sharingan's capabilities." Sakura took what he'd said into consideration and remembered Lady Tsunade telling her something similar during their training together.

"Yeah, I guess you're right," she sighed. "But still, unless we can slow down those hands of his, we won't stand a chance of getting those bells." Sasuke nodded.

"Yeah, I can agree with you on that. Like you said before, it's no surprise seeing how he's smarter than Shikamaru; has a sense of smell sharper than Kiba Inuzuka's: his sharingan is stronger and more mature than my own; his taijutsu is better than Rock Lee's and on top of all that…he's had much more experience then all of the rookie nine combined, I mean… he did live through the third great shinobi war and survived." Sakura nodded and turned her gaze skyward again, her brow furrowed in thought.

"Yeah, fair enough but he's still a human being like the rest of us and every ninja no matter how strong has their flaws so the question remains…"

"What's his weakness?" Sasuke finished Sakura's sentence after she paused and sat back against the trunk of the tree, sighing heavily. "You know, I bet if Naruto were here he'd be able to think of something," he stated nonchalantly.

"Yeah, maybe if we had one of his crazy ideas we could use it to our advantage," Sakura sighed. They both closed their eyes simultaneously and sighed, letting the night wind breeze ruffle their hair.

 _Come on Sasuke,_ Sasuke thought to himself. _If nothing else is going to work then it's time to start thinking like a hyper active knucklehead and come up with some grand scheme or something._ Meanwhile Sakura was thinking along the same lines.

 _Come on think, what would Naruto have come up with? There just has to be something, there just has to._ They remained like this thinking for some time.

 _Think; come on think!_ Sasuke mentally encouraged himself. His mind wandered to the events of a day where Naruto had come to him bragging that he'd found himself an awesome teacher.

 _"_ _Hey, Sasuke, Sasuke!" a familiar blonde headed kid's voice called out. Sasuke having recently been discharged from the hospital was walking about the village brooding over what had happened during the recent chunin exams. He couldn't help but send an annoyed glare the blonde's way._

 _"_ _What do you want loser? I'm trying to enjoy myself today so don't ruin it," he said placidly. Naruto meanwhile just paused a moment before grinning widely._

 _"_ _Oh nothing much just to say that I've found myself only the greatest teacher ever! He might be an old pervert but boy is he ever strong. In fact it's thanks to him that I defeated Neji in the final rounds. Heh, heh, heh!" Sasuke remained impassive._

 _"_ _So?" he stated dryly. This got the blonde really hyper._

 _"_ _So," he repeated laughing some. "So? So he's one of the legendary saw ning or something and he's really powerful and that means that I'm finally going to become stronger than you!" Sasuke simply scoffed and turned, walking away._

 _"_ _As if! If he's a pervert like you just said…I don't think I have anything to worry about from a week minded buffoon like that." The blonde then became riled up growling then yelling after the raven haired preteen._

 _"_ _Hey Sasuke, you get back here!" he shouted._

Sasuke smirked at the memory then found himself thinking immediately of the events from early the day before.

 _"_ _Hey Sasuke," Konohamaru called out. There was puff of smoke and in Konohamaru's place, was a young and naked girl holding her butt and winking as she said, "Sexy jutsu!" Sasuke stared with an unamused look._

Then he remembered his time spent with the old Toadstool, Jiraiya.

 _Sasuke sat on one side of the hot springs while his sensei stood at the other near the wall dividing the men's and women's bath. Sasuke had his eyes closed and wasn't paying attention until the old man started giggling. When Sasuke opened his eyes to glance at his sensei he was a mixture of shock, surprise, disgust and embarrassment as he saw the old fart peeping through a small hole in the wall._

 _"_ _What the hell do you think you're doing geezer!?" he'd raised his voice alarmed. Jiraiya just chuckled and waved his student's worry aside._

 _"_ _Hush now; don't spoil this for me," he replied. "I need to get a good view…I mean I'm just doing some research for my latest novel is all. There's no need to get so serious." The old man wore a huge goofy grin on his features and Sasuke started to realize why Naruto had gone about calling him Pervy Sage while he was still in the village._

 _"_ _Research for a novel," Sasuke asked turning redder at the thought of being found out. He let himself sink lower beneath the hot waters until just his head was slightly above them._

 _"_ _Heh, heh, that's right," the old pervert replied._

Next came a memory of a day the Toadstool had woken him early, really excited.

 _"_ _Huh, what is it, what's going on," Sasuke yawned sitting up in his bed at the hotel. Jiraiya was practically dancing back and forth from foot to foot._

 _"_ _Oh just the best thing ever!" the old sage replied. "I just finished the first manuscript of my latest novel and you just have to read it. I need someone to go over it with me." Sasuke rubbed his eyes annoyed and glanced outside._

 _"_ _Are you kidding you old coot, it's like three A.M. in the morning!"_

 _"_ _Which is a perfect time for reading!" proclaimed the sage taking up a pose. Sasuke didn't look too pleased and was even more unamused as the manuscript was shoved into his hands._

 _"_ _Huh?" Sasuke mused as he read the title._ _ **Make Out Tactics**_ _, it read._

Then finally, the memory of Sasuke handing the very same finished book over to his sensei.

 _"_ _The old toadstool gave that to me for some light reading but I couldn't really get into a story like that so I thought you might like it instead."_ _Kakashi was barely listening to his student as he beheld the title of the book in awe._

 _"_ _No way," he exclaimed. "Isn't this…this is…" his hand shook with excitement as he held the book._

 _"_ _The latest installment of the make out series in three years," Sasuke replied. He watched as his sensei held his present with the utmost glee._

Sasuke's eyes snapped open. "That's it!" he declared. Sakura opened her eyes and turned towards her partner.

"What is it Sasuke?" she pondered. Sasuke began to laugh lightly.

"Why didn't I see it before, that's just the thing that **_he_** would've come up with; Kakashi's weakness." Sakura's eyes brightened and she sat up excited.

"What, what's Kakashi's weakness? Come on Sasuke tell me," she begged, a smile on her face. Sasuke finished his light laughter and turned to her.

"Come on Sakura, you know him as well as I do," Sasuke chuckled. "I'm sure you could figure it out. Just in case though I'll give you a hint. I gave it to him yesterday as a present when I returned." Sakura sat back and thought a while then she gasped as realization hit.

"Of course, it's so simple, it's simply brilliant!" she proclaimed. "I mean, it's definitely something Naruto would've come up with if he were here, I just know it. Good work Sasuke!" Sasuke grinned.

"Thanks! Now let's think of a way to turn it against him," he stated simply. Sakura nodded and they both started planning.

Meanwhile on the other end of the training grounds, Kakashi was hiding behind his own tree, breathing heavily and checking out the surrounding area in case his two students might try and jump him. He leaned back against the trunk for more support.

"I never thought they'd give my sharingan such a workout," Kakashi admitted to himself. "But I should be able to hold them off until sunrise." He reached down and opened his side pouch feeling around inside.

"I've still got plenty of shuriken," he noted. "And Kunai…and **_Make Out Tactics!_** " he shook his head. "No, I'd better not. It's not like the old days when I could read a book and fight them off at the same time." Kakashi eyed his pouch where the book was sitting and felt his hand itch towards it.

"But I'm dying to know what happens. It's obvious the main character has some sort of dark secret that's about to be revealed. Man this is killing me! I don't know if I can wait!" he exclaimed aloud to the clearing. He sighed as he continued going through his thoughts and looked around the area again.

 _I was so impressed with how much those two have improved that I let myself get carried away._ Kakashi thought to himself. _From now on I'm going to wait and let them make the first move._ He nodded finalizing his decision. He waited for another while longer then suddenly, he caught a whiff of their scent.

"They're here!" he declared as he stood. Nearby an owl swooped down from out of nowhere and seized its prey, a little field mouse and took off again. Suddenly, Sasuke and Sakura burst forth with a burst of speed towards their sensei from behind some bushes.

"A frontal attack huh?" he queried. "Getting a little over confident aren't you?" Sakura smirked then spoke to her teammate.

"Now Sasuke!" she declared. The Uchiha didn't need to be told twice. He smirked and spoke up, loud enough so that Kakashi could hear him.

"Hey Kakashi," he started calling the Jonin's attention. "About that book I gave you earlier. Allow me to save you from the disappointment awaiting you. The final plot twist of Make Out Tactics goes like this…it turns out the hero's dark secret is…" Kakashi's eyes widened in horror as Sasuke went to try and spoil the ending of his new book.

"No, shut-up!" he shouted desperately. "I don't wanna hear it!" Kakashi covered his ears but then a new realization hit him as he saw Sasuke's lips were still moving. _Oh no,_ he panicked. _Because of the sharingan, I can still read his lips! No!_ he thought as he quickly shut his eyes to block out the boy's moving mouth. After a while, he seemed to believe it was over and he couldn't have been more right. As he lifted his hands slightly from his ears, he heard a familiar jingle nearby. Quickly he opened his eyes.

"Huh?" he questioned dumbfounded to see his students standing in front of him nonchalantly. Sasuke scoffed as he held up one of the bells in one of his hands making it jingle. Meanwhile Sakura held up the other one with a slight giggle causing hers to jingle too. Kakashi quickly reached for where the bells used to be hoping it was only a dream but the bells weren't there, they were in his student's hands and before sunrise too.

"Doh!" Kakashi groaned embarrassed as he realized he'd been defeated. Sasuke chuckled as he threw his bell up and caught it in midair.

"Heh, a ninja must see through deception," he quoted the Jonin from the first test.

"Isn't that right sensei?" Sakura beamed. Kakashi gave a sheepish smile.

"I deserved that," he stated causing both of his students and himself to laugh.

 ** _Meanwhile;_**

 ** _Above Sunagakure_**

"Well this certainly isn't good," declared the blonde ponytailed man. His name was Deidara and he was a member of the infamous group known as the Akatsuki. He along with his puppet master partner Sasori had arrived not too long ago in the Hidden Sand village in order to obtain the jinchuuriki of the one tailed Shukaku, Gaara of the desert. He wore a black cloak emblazoned with red clouds and was right in the middle of doing battle with his so called target Gaara, the Kazekage of the village.

Meanwhile a giant dome of sand was being forged around him as Gaara went on the offensive. He tried to escape but instead of getting free, he wound up flying his clay bird right into a newly formed sand wall. With that, the dome was completed and Deidara of the Akatsuki was trapped.

Meanwhile, on the ground, Gaara's allies, including his older brother stood watching from the roof of the Kazekage tower what they thought to be the conclusion of the epic battle.

"It's all over," Kankuro breathed, not taking his eyes off of the two sand domes floating in the sky, one of which held his younger brother the Kazekage and the other, the intruder. Meanwhile, cheers came from his colleagues behind him as they stared up in awe at the Kazekage's work.

"Leave to the Kazekage," one of them stated with admiration.

"Yeah, as long as we have lord Kazekage, the sand village will be fine," complimented another.

Back up in the sky, within his own sand dome, Gaara sat waiting to see if the enemy would try anything and as his hunch had predicted…he did. From his sand dome, Deidara made a hand sign and sent his chakra into his attack. As he did, the clay bird he'd been flying on exploded underneath him creating an opening which he freely fell through in the sand. As he fell, Gaara refused to let him get away and he sent his sand after him. Deidara was caught by the ankle, brought back up and then thrown back towards the sand dome he'd just escaped, the sand opening to accept him back into its prison. Before it could though, he threw a new clay bird he'd made then made a hand sign. The bird became a larger version of itself and caught him, taking off just as the sand dome reclosed itself.

Once again though, the sand chased after him through the sky. Deidara looked over his shoulder and grumbled to himself.

"That sand's a real pain isn't it?" he muttered to himself. He scoffed at it as he had his new bird fly him higher into the sky, the sand chasing close behind. Back on the ground Kankuro just grinned as he watched the spectacle.

"Humph, there isn't a man alive who can escape Gaara's sand," he said prideful of his younger brother. They continued watching as the intruder continued dodging Gaara's sand attack that just kept following him through the sky. Suddenly, Kankuro heard his name being called.

"Kankuro!" barked a familiar voice as he landed with his group on the roof of the building.

"Yeah, what is it?" Kankuro questioned as he turned around to face his and his sibling's old sensei.

"Where is lord Gaara?" he demanded to know. "Is he still in battle?" Kankuro nodded then lifted a finger to the scene to point.

"Yes…he's up there," he replied. The newcomers stared up at the dome in awe and watched as Gaara's sand chased the intruder of the village around the night skies. Their silhouettes illuminated by the full moon in the sky. Their old teacher also had his eyes on the sky, praying that his student would make it through.

"C'mon Gaara," he muttered under his breath.

Meanwhile, the chase continued in the sky, Gaara watching through his sand eye he'd made outside of his dome and Deidara trying to avoid being caught. However, when he let his guard down for a fraction of a second to glance over his shoulder, he realized his mistake as his arm was caught and encased in sand. His eyes widened but he didn't lose his cool. Gaara allowed his sand to crawl up further on the man's arm.

Deidara decided to try breaking free and created a clay centipede with his other hand, sending it down and around his encased arm, not caring if he destroyed it. He made his hand sign and the centipede exploded but the sand held firm. Gaara meanwhile, slit his eyes and closed his hand as he muttered,

"Sand coffin," under his breath. Gaara's sand then compressed until it completely destroyed Deidara's arm. Deidara himself ignored the pain and just wore a look of pure surprise and interest. Gaara then heard cheers coming from the ground as his people were gathering to watch their brave leader fight. However, Gaara couldn't allow himself to be distracted otherwise, the man might harm them. He refused to let that happen.

Deidara had his bird swoop down near the buildings trying to get rid of the sand around his now completely crushed arm. He was finally able to shake it as he allowed his arm to be pulled off completely.

"Darn he got away," said the old teacher.

"He just got lucky, it won't happen again," Kankuro assured him. Back in the air Deidara admired his missing arm, the sleeve to his cloak still intact somehow with some blood dripping down it.

"He's good alright, oh yeah." he muttered to himself. Then his gaze fixated upon the sand that remained where it'd lost its grip on him. _I get it,_ he thought to himself. _The sand he used to crush my arm is faster and more powerful than ordinary sand from the dessert._ He glanced up again to see Gaara sitting in his dome still, keeping an eye on him through a small hole where his face could peek out.

 _According to our information…he always carries around a fixed amount of it with him. So it stands to reason that sand is different…infused with a large amount of chakra probably. That's his go to for quick defense and the source of all his lightning fast attacks. What did they call it again?_ As Deidara pondered this he almost didn't see the sand that had begun to chase him again and just barely dodged it as he suddenly remembered what the name was and decided to speak his discovery out loud.

"Now I remember," he said, keeping an eye on the moving sands, "The ultimate defense!" he grinned. "So that's the sand village's ultimate defense." He scoffed at it as it paused in the air before changing direction.

 _In other words…_ he glanced back to the sand dome where Gaara was seated. _The portion missing from that hole…is what crushed my arm._ He grinned then and shoved his remaining hand into one of his side pouch's so the little mouth on his palms could eat the clay and mold chakra into it. He chuckled to himself as he glanced over his shoulder playfully at his target. _I've only got a little clay left._ Some more sand attacked and he dodged. _I underestimated him…I should've been better prepared._

"Heh, I guess Sasori was right on the money," he mumbled. "I hate that." He remembered back to when he and Sasori had been on their way to the sand village in the first place and Sasori had skeptically eyed his pouch's asking if he was sure he had enough. Not liking his nagging attitude, Deidara had scoffed and brushed it off saying he'd be able to use what he had. However, now Sasori's nagging seemed to be proving no so pointless.

Returning to the present, Deidara had finished molding his next creation. He held it now in his one hand while grinning up at Gaara still inside of his sand dome. _I may have enough for one last homing type,_ he thought to himself. _And my specialty…of course._

Meanwhile, the entire village had all but gathered to witness the outcome of the battel, every citizen and ninja praying their Kazekage would come out on top. They all knew he was strong but they also knew that he was still a kid, just a teenager so naturally everyone had their slight doubts. Baki seemed wary of his though.

"Kankuro," he said while he watched. Kankuro turned to face him.

"What is it?"

"Gaara's resorted to his ultimate defense up there. I think it's safe to assume this enemy he's facing is a serious threat." H paused slightly before he went on aware of what his student's reaction might be. "We can't rule out the possibility of Gaara losing control. The Shukaku could be unleashed and our people will be in danger." There was slight pause. But then Kankuro just grinned.

"Humph," he retorted. "You don't have to worry about that." Kankuro turned to watch his brother still grinning and feeling a pride for his younger sibling he'd never felt before in their previous way of living. He also remembered that day.

"I know Gaara would never harm the people of this village. Not ever!" Kankuro then flashbacked to a day he would never forget.

 _"_ _Gaara…let it go!" Kankuro tried to persuade his younger brother. Gaara had made a decision previously that would change their lives forever but Kankuro who was for once acting like an older brother, didn't want to see Gaara get hurt._

 _"_ _I don't wanna say this but…you know how they see you. You're a weapon of terror." Kankuro waited to see if his brother would react at all and when all he did was stay silent, Kankuro continued. "Seriously…leaving us and joining the regular troops is not going to be an easy thing. They're full of Jonin who think pretty poorly of you. And most of the villagers…they're as terrified of you as they've always been." Kankuro looked down at his sandals wishing things were different so he didn't have to stand here crushing his brother's hopes and dreams like a heartless bastard._

 _"_ _I know that," Gaara responded, catching his elder sibling off guard. "I've always known…but…doing nothing at all will most certainly bring even greater pain. I know what I must do. I must clear my own path…and perhaps then…that day will come…the day will come…where I can be like him." Kankuro was shocked. Even though they were sand shinobi even he'd heard about Naruto Uzumaki's defection from the leaf village. He'd seen his picture in the bingo book with him as a missing ninja of Konoha and a rogue. Perhaps, Gaara had been in denial but…it just didn't make sense to him._

 _"_ _I want to be part of this village…so I'm aiming for the title of Kazekage as a shinobi of the sand…"_

 _"_ _But Gaara," Kankuro interrupted suddenly. He had to tell him. "You know don't you? You know that Naruto Uzumaki went rogue not too long after the Chunin exams. It's hard to say why really but do you really want to be like him? I mean…all of that stuff before that…was obviously an act. We still know nothing about him." There was silence as the wind blew. Then Gaara sighed._

 _"_ _Perhaps…you're right on that note," he admitted causing Kankuro to sigh with relief. "However…I believe I might understand and know where he's coming from."_

 _"_ _Huh…what do you mean?" Kankuro asked warily._

 _"_ _You remember how I was before. I was a mindless killing machine. But then…I was defeated by Naruto Uzumaki. He opened my eyes that day…showed me that there's more to life than one's self and that if you try…you can become something to be admired. True…it might've been an act the whole time but even if it was a mere painting against real life, then I'd still be drawn in to its beauty._

 _"_ _I also believe that Naruto too saw that painting and was drawn to its beauty but that an unknown force is tampering with the way he sees it. It's sometimes difficult for the artist to appreciate his own work and be proud of it when all he did was paint what he desired but couldn't achieve. But maybe…just maybe if I or someone can call him out and give him what his heart truly desires then I have no doubt that when he looks back at that painting he made he'll see just how beautiful a piece it truly is._

 _"_ _That's one of the reasons why I want to become Kazekage Kankuro. I will work hard to connect to the people of this village. Seeing Naruto Uzumaki's painting has brought me a sense of clarity. Until I met him…my ties to others…brought only pain and sorrow. But he showed me his painting and that beautiful portrait pushed me to redefine those ties." Kankuro was amazed at his brother's words. Naruto's painting? It was clearly an ingenious metaphor._

 _"_ _I think I finally understand…the suffering and sadness of life…and joy. These are feelings that can be shared with those around me. I can make that painting a reality." As Kankuro finally understood what his brother was talking about, he became inspired. He smiled for his brother though his brother's back was facing him and his brother was looking out into the sunset._

 _"_ _It was Uzumaki…he's the artist…the whole reason my eyes have opened. When we fought we connected. He's known the same pain I have and he taught me that I can change the path my life will follow. One day Kankuro…I would like to become something precious to others too, not just to be viewed as some hideous weapon…" Gaara paused before turning to face his elder brother with a smile on his face. "But as the sand's next Kazekage…and…if I can…I want to show Naruto Uzumaki his painting again and turn it into his reality. I wish to save him from the darkness that he saved me from and…I want to show him my own painting…that I'm going to make into a reality. Maybe then he will relook at his own painting and realize, he's more than just an artist…that he's a dreamer."_

As the memory faded from Kankuro's mind, he continued to watch his brother defend their village with pride. _Your people do you need you,_ he turned his thoughts towards his brother as if he could hear them. _You are the Kazekage of the sand and as far as I'm concerned…that painting you painted a long time ago has indeed been made into reality. I just know…there's got to be some hope for Naruto Uzumaki yet._ After voicing his thoughts aloud in his own head, Kankuro could hear the ever growing crowd of civilian spectators yelling out Gaara's name and cheering him on from their spots on the ground while in the sky, Gaara's battle with the ever elusive Deidara continued.


	4. Chapter 3 (Fallen Kazekage New Mission)

**_Chapter 3_**

 ** _(Fallen Kazekage; New Mission)_**

 **Sunagakure**

"Summon the council…immediately!" Baki ordered of a nearby sand shinobi.

"Yes sir!" he replied. Then Baki turned to another shinobi and pointed him out of the crowd.

"You…take two squads and secure the reservoir. Now!" he barked.

"Sir!" the shinobi responded and like that the two shinobi had flickered out of existence to complete the tasks they'd been given. However, Baki wasn't done giving orders.

"Seal the roads in sector A, there might be more than one enemy. Now I don't care what happens, I want you all poised and ready." The shinobi on the ground had now turned their attention from the sky to listen to Baki give out orders that would either mean the survival or destruction of their village if one person should fail. "Medical core, start setting up a barrier and get all non-combatants inside of it on the double. I don't want to hear of a single causality, is that clear?!"

As the ground troops began to move, Baki watched from his post on top of the tower and prayed against all odds that his former student would be able to pull off a miracle with the support of his entire village behind him.

"We're here for you Gaara," he muttered to himself. Then he said aloud in more determination as he turned to face the skies again. "Yes! We're here for the lord Kazekage!" Kankuro was amazed at his teacher's sudden change and felt a spark of hope as he too turned his gaze back on the skies.

"Hang in there," he pleaded as though Gaara could hear him from where he now hovered above the village in his circular sand dome.

Meanwhile, Deidara watched from his perch still standing on his clay bird as the village's shinobi readied themselves to aid Gaara. He smirked and evil smirk then turned to face Gaara, speaking directly to him.

"I think your friends are about to butt in here. Besides…" he paused as his lips curved upwards more and he stared straight at Gaara. "I'm tired of that expressionless face of yours." With that Deidara sent his precious new piece out into the air to hover slightly before transforming into a bigger version of itself. Deidara held it over the village in midair with one hand controlling it.

Gaara got one look at it and his expression changed to one of shock and horror as he slowly realized what the man was planning. Deidara then let go of the weird looking art piece he'd crafted and it began to fall, making a terrifying whistling sound towards the village below. Gaara watched in horror as Deidara laughed dryly from the other side of their aerial battlefield.

"That was a doll molded from detonating clay chewed up by my palm and loaded with chakra. It's a specialty of mine, full of C3, the most powerful chakra I possess. It's destructive power is my masterpiece!" Deidara finished explaining. Gaara began to react as the ninjas on the ground looked up at the weird thing with alert confusion.

"What is that?" one wondered.

"It's big," stated another.

"We'd better move," pointed out another one. Baki's eyes widened. He ran to the railing on the top of the Kazekage tower and he shouted down.

"Everyone get back!" he ordered a little too late. Deidara grinned as he watched his masterpiece fall.

"You're too late," he muttered excitedly under his breath. Suddenly he executed his hand sign and the falling clay bomb began to shine brightly and everybody on the ground only had enough time to stare up in horror as it detonated in a huge ball of fire that sent shockwaves and dust outwards towards the outskirts of the village. Deidara grinned maliciously down at the ground, excited to see what his art had done. However he was disappointed.

Gaara had reacted just in time and now, a huge wall of sand was hovering over the entire village, having taken the full brunt of the blast. Meanwhile, the villagers down below still had their eyes closed underneath from the brilliantly blinding light that had flashed before the explosion. However, now that it was over, they slowly began to look up and take notice of the sand that had defended them.

"What's that?" one man wondered incredulously.

"Is that…lord Kazekage's sand?" another questioned.

"Amazing," breathed a third. "Look at the size of the shield he created." Back on the top of the Kazekage tower, Baki and Kankuro gazed up at it in wonderment and relief.

"I expect nothing less from the Kazekage," Baki commented. Kankuro beside him nodded with a prideful grin on his face.

"Gaara did it," he whispered. Meanwhile, back in the air, Deidara held the Kazekage Gaara with an astonished look as Gaara, looking down at his now safe village panted from the exertion of using as much chakra as he had in such a rushed amount of time. Deidara laughed to himself then held up another hand sign. He grinned.

"Now…you're within range," he said as another of his clay creations, flew next to Gaara's face. Gaara saw it slightly taken by surprise and brought his sand up to try and defend himself but to no avail as it detonated right there. As it did so, it caught all of the villagers and ninjas watching below with surprise and suddenly Kankuro was worried for his little brother.

"Gaara!" he shouted with fear. On the ground, many of the ninjas and villagers became increasingly worried as they gazed up to see what had happened to their revered leader. However, they had nothing to worry about as when the smoke cleared the dome of sand had reformed into a full dome and the hole that'd been there before was gone.

"He did it!" exclaimed a ninja with wonder in his voice. "Our leader is astonishing." Back on the tower, Baki smirked.

"Gaara's ultimate defense can withstand much more than that detonation," he exclaimed to no one in particular. A ninja came up from behind him.

"Lord Baki…our attack preparations are now complete," he confirmed. Baki didn't take his eyes off of the sky.

"Very well…you will launch the assault on my signal," he ordered. All of the ninjas who were ready to attack with giant crossbow from the many rooftops, readied themselves in their positions. They each drew the arrows back for launching and took their aim.

Deidara meanwhile just watched the sand dome in front of him. He sighed.

"I expected as much," he muttered to himself. "That special sand of his makes quite a tight defense. Humph!"

Across from Deidara, Gaara remained in his sand dome trying to figure out what he would do next. He knew he had to act quickly because now he was low on chakra and even though the sand he'd used earlier was a great defense against the bomb, it was now a danger to the village below him if he lost control of it and it fell on their heads. He couldn't…no he wouldn't allow that to happen. He breathed in and out heavily, exhausted from the exertion but still pushing onward to win. He was Kazekage and it was his duty to protect his home and its people.

Back outside though Deidara grew a wicked grin. He began to bring his hand up. _However,_ he thought to himself. _That's exactly what I was counting on._ He looked at the sand that had returned to shut the hole, the same sand he'd tampered with while it'd still been attached to his other arm before having it ripped off.

Gaara, still in the dome was now shocked as he heard the sand in front of him begin to move around without him controlling it and witnessed several little clay spiders, burrow their way into his sanctuary. His eyes widened in shock.

"Heh, my left hand might've been crushed," Deidara spoke from the outside. "But I used the opportunity to eat your sand and I mixed some of it with my detonating clay. You doomed yourself the moment you used that sand to try and form a defense. And the best part is…I planned it that way all along." He finished forming the hand sign. Meanwhile Gaara's eyes widened within the sand dome realizing the plan.

"No!" he protested.

"Art…is and explosion!" Deidara finished and then he detonated all of the little spiders within the sand dome causing it to bubble like someone was popping popcorn inside. The people down below had heard the explosions though they'd been muffled and now they really were worried because now, some of the sand surrounding Gaara was beginning to fall like little waterfalls from the dome. Baki and Kankuro who'd also been watching were now tense.

"That blast," exclaimed Baki. "What happened inside the sphere?"

"Is…is he," Kankuro started to ask a question he didn't want answered negatively. He raced forwards and shouted up towards the sky with worry. "Gaara!" His voice echoed in the night, reflecting all of the villager's worries in one.

"Lord Kazekage!" some men shouted from the ground. Baki gritted his teeth.

"No, it can't be…he broke Gaara's ultimate defense?" he asked in alarm.

"How on earth did he do that," Kankuro wanted to know. Meanwhile back in the sky, Deidara watched and waited, congratulating himself on coming up with such an artistic plan, as Gaara's ultimate defense began to crumble, falling to the ground and leaving the limp form of the Kazekage still floating before him. Deidara grinned as Gaara's and some of his limbs came into view, sand still falling from him.

"Humph, time to get the prize," Deidara commented as he moved his big clay bird towards the one tailed Jinchuuriki. However, Gaara wasn't quite done yet. He was still conscious, keeping himself floating and then he began to move his right arm, closing his hand in a way to command the sand. In doing so, he made Deidara believe he was about to be attacked again so the wary Akatsuki member drew back just as fast as he'd begun to move in.

Gaara however was aiming for his enemy this time, he knew when he'd been defeated. However, he would die before he allowed the village to be harmed and knowing that once he'd fallen unconscious the sand that still hovered dangerously over the village from his shielding it from the bomb would immediately drop on them, he knew he couldn't lose now.

As soon as he'd closed his hand, the large body of sand began to move towards the edge of the village. It shuddered threateningly but he kept his grip. He wasn't going to drop it no matter what. His new course of action had snapped Baki and Kankuro back to attention as they rushed over to the other side of the roof of the tower to see the miracle before them.

"What now?" Baki wondered.

"He's using every last bit of power to transport the sand safely outside the village," Kankuro said in a strained voice. "He's trying to save his people."

Deidara still up in the sky watched with amusement at the spectacle before him.

"Such a noble Kazekage," he mocked. "Fighting when it'd be so much easier to drop it all on their heads." Back on the ground Kankuro's worry increased.

"Gaara," he choked out, feeling both inspired by his brother's act and fearful that the intruder would try something while he was doing his duty to his village. He also felt completely helpless having been made Gaara's body guard only to have to watch from the ground with the other villagers and not be able to do anything for his younger brother. Perhaps if Temari were there, he'd be able to turn to her for advice. He just didn't know what he should do.

"What do you men think you're doing?" barked Baki as he turned towards some shinobi just standing and staring. "We must rescue our Kazekage! Commence the attack!"

"Yes sir!" saluted a shinobi. Then within minutes, volleys of arrows were aimed and shot at Deidara the intruder sill floating on his bird in the sky. He grinned and gave the villagers and the attacking ninjas an amused look as he began evading them.

"Why do you even bother?" he sneered down at them. The ground ninjas just kept firing. "Don't you get it…your arrows won't work!" Deidara taunted. However, with the next wave of arrows something was definitely different and Deidara decided to hold his tongue as the explosive tags attached to the arrow heads activated at a certain speed and nearest to Deidara's body heat. Deidara continued dodging.

"They're getting a bit more creative aren't they?" he asked himself as he climbed higher in the sky, evading the exploding arrows left and right. Deidara glanced over his shoulder from his new altitude with a gleam in his eye. "Guess I'd better wrap this up," he continued. "Sasori might get ticked off if I'm not there soon."

While this was going on, Gaara focused souly on moving his big sand shield towards the outside of the village. He kept flexing his hand and pushing his chakra further as though he were physically pushing the sand away. He kept pushing and pushing not caring how exhausted he was becoming. As he pushed the sand shield away, he could here cheers and shouts of encouragement from the people down below and somehow, it gave him more strength.

On the roof of the tower, Kankuro was sweating profusely and keeping his eyes on his brother's moving sand. He sent a determined filled glare towards his brother.

"Gaara, c'mon don't give up yet!" he pleaded while gritting his teeth with anxiety. Gaara kept flexing his right hand, continuing to push the sand away having caught his brother's look and knowing that he couldn't let him or anybody down.

The sand shield was on the edge…now it was flying over…and finally, it was out and over the walls surrounding the sand village. Gaara sighed a sigh of relief then turned to look at his right hand now balled into a fist then let it go, the rumbling of falling sand from outside the village able to be heard by all. Kankuro fist pumped.

"He did it!" he exclaimed. The entire village erupted in cheers and praises for their great Kazekage. However, Gaara couldn't hear them all as the final ounce of strength he had vanished and he fell into unconsciousness. Meanwhile, it'd seemed like Deidara had been forgotten for a split second which was all he really needed. He grinned maliciously as his target's unconscious body slowly began to fall with the rest of the sand towards the ground, picking up speed.

"Gaara!" Kankuro shouted, racing towards his little brother. It was like a flipped switch then and everyone's moods changed back to being filled with worry, fright and dread.

"Hurry, save the Kazekage!" shouted Baki. Deidara began to move again through the resuming to be fired explosive arrows. He seemed to move through them with ease now, towards the falling form of the Kazekage. Deidara grinned.

"Taking him down without killing him…was much harder than I thought," he said to himself. The villagers and Kankuro on the ground watched with horror as Deidara finally reached his target and swooped in to scoop him up with his clay bird's tail.

The remaining grains of Gaara's ultimate defense were falling and his entire sand armor that usually shielded his body was now cracked. Deidara glance back at him and grinned, mentally patting himself on the back for a job well done.

"Well my mission is clear," he stated to himself. Meanwhile, Kankuro watched with horror, building anger and the same sense of helplessness he'd felt before as his younger brother and Kazekage was taken away by the intruder Akatsuki member before his very eyes.

"Gaara!" he shouted out after him. An arrow was loosed after them but Deidara just dodged it. Baki turned to the commander of the squads beside him.

"They might hit lord Kazekage," he warned. "Tell them to cease fire, immediately." As the realization dawned on the captain, he turned after a hearty "Sir!" to give a hand signal for all units to stop firing. The cry echoed throughout the squads of firers. The clay bird circled overhead almost mockingly before it made its way towards the main gate of the sand village.

"What the devil is he up to now?" growled Baki as he turned towards the sky. Kankuro gritted his teeth as he watched the bird go.

"Don't tell me he's leaving the village," Kankuro ground out.

 _Is he going to carry him off alive?_ Wondered Baki. Suddenly Kankuro sped off.

"I'm going to go after him!" he spat out as he began pursuing the big white clay bird from across the village rooftops. Baki tried to reach out and stop him.

"Kankuro no!" he shouted. "Don't go by yourself, wait for a backup squad!" Kankuro turned back to face his teacher with an angry glare as he kept going.

"By then, he and Gaara will be long gone!" he shouted back. Baki sighed.

"Alright, but don't engage until we catch up with you!" Baki ordered.

"Right, understood!" Kankuro agreed. Then he turned towards the front again and continued after his kidnapped brother, a rage boiling in his gut that pushed him forward towards the exit. Two other shinobi caught up with him.

"Lord Kankuro, we're here!" one of them said.

"We can't let that guy get away!" he declared.

"Right!" the two agreed in unison. Then Kankuro looked back up and noticed that the altitude of the bird was dropping. He grit his teeth. _He's landing,_ he realized. _He doesn't realize we've got a security unit stationed right there!_ This new thought filled Kankuro with some hope as he pressed forward faster, causing the other two shinobi to try and keep up with his speed.

Meanwhile, Deidara landed his giant clay bird right in the middle of the path exiting the village where another man of sorts also clad in a red cloud emblazoned cloak was waiting. He didn't seem too happy to see Deidara though.

"Well…I've cleared my mission," Deidara stated smugly. The man in the hunched over position grumbled at him irritably.

"You're late!" he spat in a gruff voice. "I told you don't keep me waiting!" he yelled as he twisted and sent his metallic scorpion like tail to try and smack Deidara's head aggressively. However, Deidara simply ducked and dodged the blow. Deidara just kept his smugness about him.

"Aren't we grumpy," he teased. He then turned to face Gaara. "This one was rather strong ya know." The man's mood didn't change.

"Yes," he grumbled dripping sarcasm. "Perhaps next time you'll listen to me!" Deidara ignored the grumpy comment.

"Everything ready here?" he questioned unamused.

"Well of course it is!" the man snapped. "I had plenty of time to see to it! Unlike you, I know what I'm doing!"

"Humph!" Deidara retorted. "Well then…let's get going." He hopped off of his clay bird and then faced the way out of the village with his partner, the man, Sasori beside him. the clay bird moved around to face the same direction then followed them as they started walking. Sasori looked back over his shoulder at the mouth of the entrance to the Sand village with annoyance. _I am never coming back here again!_ he thought to himself then turned about and continued walking with Deidara out into the open dessert.

Meanwhile, more shinobi had followed Kankuro to the mouth of the exit to the village but before they could enter, Kankuro slowed, stopped and threw out an arm to stop everyone else.

"Wait, hold it!" he exclaimed. One of the other shinobi looked at him with interest.

"Why, what's the matter sir?" he asked. Kankuro just looked ahead into the darkness with unease building in the pit of his stomach.

"It's way too quiet," explained. "We have a whole squad guarding this entrance to the village. He landed right on top of them, we should be hearing the sounds of fighting. So then why is it as quiet as a grave?" The other men surrounding him picked up on his unease. "On top of that…they never replied back to my message asking them to confirm their position. What's going on out here?" While he was talking, one of the shinobi who'd been accompanying him leapt up to a nearby ledge. Suddenly his frightened and slightly panicked voice echoed back to the group.

"Lord…lord Kankuro!" he exclaimed. Kankuro looked up at his tone.

"What have you found?" he ordered to know. The man didn't know exactly how to explain it himself as he was still in shock but then a little while later, Kankuro and his men were beholding a most horrific and gruesome sight. The bodies of many dead sand shinobi lay cold in the dark night under the full moon.

"W-what happened?" one of the men whispered in surprise.

"It's a bloody massacre," Kankuro answered as he walked up to a dead body close by and knelt down. He felt the temperature. "This didn't happen just now. It might've been before Gaara's battle started," he confirmed.

"There were ANBU black ops in this unit," exclaimed a flabbergasted shinobi.

"Their attackers must've heavily outnumbered them," another stated. Kankuro looked up and then dead ahead towards the exit of their village.

"Or maybe not," he spoke through gritted teeth as he imagined the possibility of something entirely different.

"What do you mean?" a man asked. Kankuro shook his head to clear it.

"Nothin, forget about it," he replied tersely. He stood up and stared harder straight ahead. "Whatever happened," he continued. "The ones who took Gaara passed this way and they're getting farther away every second. Let's move!" he declared.

"Yes sir!" the men behind him replied in unison as they all started to run through the passage leading to the outside of the village. As they went though, a voice shouted to him from behind.

"Here, sir! One of them is still alive!" a man called. Kankuro seized and turned.

"Wait! Be careful how you handle him!" Kankuro tried to warn as the man bent down and began to pick the man up. However, the man flopped backwards, revealing an explosive tag on his chest that activated almost immediately. Kankuro's eyes widened.

"A paper bomb!" he exclaimed. Suddenly, thousands more paper bombs activated as the first one detonated. Soon a barrage of explosions echoed throughout the passageway. However, thinking fast, Kankuro embodied the men he could inside of one of his puppets to protect them from the explosions and the falling rocks. A little while later, he was able to burrow his way to the top. Some of the other shinobi had made their way over to investigate the explosion, Baki being one of them.

Kankuro now stood atop the rubble, glaring daggers after the men who were responsible, hoping they stuck in their backs and took them down instantly. He held two of the surviving men under his arms. Baki beheld his former student's back from behind with relief.

"Kankuro," he spoke. Kankuro growled then gently set the two men down.

"I was only able to save two of them," he said with regret. Then he glanced over his shoulder to shout out an order.

"These men need medical attention, hurry!" he half growled, half yelled behind him. Then Kankuro stood to face the exit again with one of his scrolls being held in the crook of his right arm.

"Wait, what're you going to do?" demanded Baki.

"What do you think," spat Kankuro. "I'm gonna bring Gaara back!" Baki's eyes widened at his student's proclamation.

"Are you insane!" he barked. "Didn't you see what he did to Gaara?! Do you really think you stand a chance alone!" Kankuro turned back again to face his old sensei.

"What're you suggesting," Kankuro started. "That we just let him?" he accused.

"No, of course not!" Baki protested. "We'll find out where his base is then assemble a large, fully equipped squad!" Kankuro turned back again, slipping his scroll back into one of the nooks on his back.

"It's no use," Kankuro declared, refusing to be moved to reason by his sensei's words.

"Very well," Baki said, caving in. "Go ahead and follow them…but you're not to engage!" Baki warned student again. Kankuro took a backwards glance one last time.

"I'll try," he stated. "But no promises." And with that he hopped down on the other side of the rubble, leaving his sensei to worry about his former student. Kankuro, meanwhile looked out over the sand of the open dessert and noticed marking like footprints and a long wide streak or line going in more than one direction. Kankuro gritted his teeth in frustration.

 _So they're playing me huh?_ He growled in his head. But before he could too worked up he noticed something different. He rushed towards it. He knelt down and scooped up a handful of sand, letting it sift through his fingers until a different coloured sand remained. _This is Gaara's sand,_ he realized. He then clenched his fist and looked in the direction of the trail the sand had been made on. With all of his anger steadily boiling now and turning into raw energy and determination, Kankuro stood and then began following the trail of Gaara's sand.

 _Hang on Gaara,_ he thought in his head, trying to send his thoughts to his little brother as if to let him know things would be alright. He grit his teeth and fell into an easy run. _I'm coming!_

 **Konohagakure**

 **(A day or two after the Kazekage kidnapping)**

It was going to be a beautiful day. The sun began to rise from the east and the sleepy little village of Konoha began to stir some. A man handing around advertisement flyers left one on almost every door. Temari of the sand woke up early to head home and was escorted to the village gates by Shikamaru where they said goodbye and birds began chirping in the trees.

Meanwhile in a small house in the Uchiha district, Sasuke was already up and finishing with getting ready for the day. He adjusted his kunai and shuriken holsters and his weapons pouch. Then he picked up his headband and tied it good and tight around his forehead. He made sure everything was just right in his mirror and once everything was to his satisfaction he smirked at himself then turned away and walked downstairs.

The entire Uchiha compound was once again quiet as it had been ever since that fateful night. However, Sasuke found it easier to walk through the empty and slightly haunting ghost town now as he had a new perspective on life. He walked about his home some as he hadn't had much chance to do so the night before as he'd been exhausted from the previous night's challenge and then a full day of walking around the village with Sakura and Kakashi by his side, sharing stories of their journey's to become stronger.

Sasuke had to admit that Sakura had definitely improved and was indeed stronger than when they'd last met. Last time, he remembered she'd only just started to train under lady Tsunade, learning only the basics of medical ninjutsu and demonstrating some promise during some of their missions together. However when he had mentioned it, she'd become as red as a tomato that would complement her pink hair. Sasuke chuckled at the memory as he entered his family's old living room.

Looking around he could tell that the place could definitely use some dusting. He wiped some off of an old photo of him and his family when he'd been younger and his eyes fell upon a certain face. His own face became emotionless for a split second but then he smirked at the face.

"To think…I used to totally lose it whenever someone even mentioned your name…brother." he stated as he stared at Itachi Uchiha's face in the photo. He liked this face of Itachi a lot better than the one he'd seen that night. This face was younger and was happier to be with his family. His training with the perverted toadstool had revolved around more than just building up his physical strength but rather his own spiritual an mental state as well. Thanks to him, he could now hold a picture of Itachi's past self without thinking about burning it with his fireball jutsu. He had indeed matured from the little punk he used to be.

Suddenly, the wall clock chimed nearby, indicating that it was now half past six. He placed the photo back on the bookcase and smiled.

"Looks like it's time I should get going. I'll have time for dusting and cleaning later." He walked out of the living room, entered the entryway of his house and pulled on his sandals. He glanced at a few boxes nearby which held his other family member's old shoes. His mind began to wander but then he shook himself out of it, zipping up his sandals, then standing and pulling on his backpack of ninja gear. He had packed all of the necessities as today would be the now reformed team Kakashi's first mission in two years.

Sasuke opened the front door then locked it as he left and began walking down the empty streets of the Uchiha compound towards the one that would lead him out and towards the main streets of Konoha. He continued walking until he reached the place where he would have to meet up with Kakashi and Sakura and stood there waiting for a while. Eventually, he heard the unmistakable footfalls a certain pink haired kunoich approaching and looked up to see Sakura coming towards him.

"Well damn!" she exclaimed when she saw him. "All this time and you're still earlier than usual. I was hoping I'd beat you this time." Sasuke smirked as she came to a stop jutting her hip out to the side naturally to shift her weight.

"Heh, well I can't help it if I'm an early bird. I just wake up naturally with the sun for some reason. I've been that way since I was young." Sakura giggled.

"Alright, fair enough I guess. But at least I'm still earlier than Kakashi sensei. That man doesn't even know the meaning of early." Sasuke gave a soft chuckle at that and leaned back against a fence.

"True," he stated simply as he closed his eyes to think while he waited. Sakura had wanted to start a conversation of sorts but thought it best to let Sasuke be instead of harassing him with questions excitedly like the fan girl she used be. Since the incident almost two years ago when she'd been training under Lady Tsunade after Sasuke had left for his training, she'd learned during one of their excursions that even a guy beautiful and attractive on the outside could quickly become a scoundrel showing what was on the inside. So afterwards she knew to always have her guard up around all guys even if they were friends, though she couldn't in a million years imagine Sasuke doing "that" to a woman in public.

As the sun climbed ever higher, they finally caught sight of their old Jonin sensei who was now just their teammate approaching the meeting place. Sasuke straightened up and huffed.

"Heh finally; you're late…as usual," he smirked as Kakashi approached.

"Finally sensei," Sakura sighed. Kakashi reached back to scratch his head sheepishly giving a sheepish eye smile with it.

"Yeah…sorry about that," he apologized. "It took me a lot longer than I thought to uh…finalize the new squad dossier." Sasuke smirked and glanced up at his sensei who gave him a questioning look.

"Yeah," he agreed nonchalantly. "We understand…but maybe you should save the late night reading for when you don't have so much work to do. Maybe then you'll actually be on time." Kakashi froze.

"But I…how did you…I mean…wha?" he stuttered as he realized he'd been caught red handed. Sakura giggled at his attempts to cover himself and admired how Sasuke had guessed it so easily. Perhaps it was because he and Kakashi had trained together more than the others during the intermission in the Chunin exams? The rosette then gazed at her sensei.

"Ya know he's got a point sensei. I mean you only got the book a few days ago and you've read it through twice now. You should try placing some of that enthusiasm into our missions ok?" Kakashi paused a moment before giving his signature eye smile and chuckling to himself.

"I suppose you have a point. I guess old habits die hard though," he sighed. This got a chuckle from his students as they then prepared to walk off towards the Hokage tower for their new mission. As they were about to go though, a bird call from the sky called Kakashi's attention and he looked up for a moment. His face then became somewhat more determined and serious.

 _That looks like one of the sand's carriers,_ he thought to himself.

"Sensei?" questioned Sakura, calling Kakashi's attention back to Earth.

"Huh?"

"We should really get going now," she pressed. In an instant his eye smile returned.

"Oh right, you're correct Sakura. Well then…shall we," he gestured for the team to get moving and with that the three of them began walking towards the Hokage's tower. However, along the way, Sasuke kept eyeing his sensei as he'd noticed his look of unease earlier.

As they walked and talked they found themselves at the Hokage's tower sooner than expected and soon they were walking down the hallway towards the Hokage's office. Sasuke stretched to the sky to loosen himself up a bit.

"Man, I can't wait to be on mission again. Honestly it's been too long in my opinion," he casually stated. Sakura smiled.

"Right, me neither. Even if it's only a simple one, I haven't been out of the village in a long time. It'll do me some good to stretch my legs," she agreed. Kakashi nodded.

"Yes but remember, whatever mission it is, no complaining alright? After all you've seen Sakura's powerful fists but it's Lady Tsunade who you need to be wary of," Kakashi warned. Sakura of course already knew this and Sasuke…well he was fairly certain he wasn't going to try anything to tick off the master who'd taught Sakura how to punch craters into the ground so there was really no argument there.

Suddenly a woman appeared running straight towards them shouting, "Out of the way, out of the way!" as she practically plowed forward causing them to slip in the middle so she could pass. They all turned to face her retreating back.

"What was that?" Sakura wondered. Sasuke's eye twitched in annoyance.

"Whatever it was she could at least have said excuse me," he muttered annoyed. Kakashi sighed realizing that despite his extensive training, Sasuke was still…well…Sasuke. However, Kakashi's thoughts shifted back to the carrier bird he'd seen flying overhead earlier.

 _They've called in the cipher core huh? Then it's true…the carrier bird I saw earlier…_

"Kakashi," Sasuke spoke up interrupting his sensei's thoughts. Kakashi turned to his student.

"Yes?" Sasuke turned to face the direction the woman had ran again.

"Who was that just now?" Kakashi kept a serious expression on. _Looks like I'm not the only one who's noticed something's amiss._

"Kakashi sensei, Sasuke," Sakura called. The two turned to face her now a few feet in front of them; flagging them with a hand. "C'mon, Lady Tsunade doesn't like to be kept waiting and it's bad enough sensei was late this morning. Whatever the cipher core's been called in for doesn't concern us so let's go." Sasuke looked up to Kakashi cocking an eyebrow as they followed after their pink haired companion.

"Cipher core?" he questioned.

"Simply put, they decode messages sent to the Hidden leaf that are of high importance from other lands. If there's ever a time when another village in the land of Fire or of the land of Wind since we're allies now experiences a level one emergency, they send out level one emergency dispatches to whichever village can help. Sometimes they even decode messages meant to summon the five great Kage of the five great nations to a Kage summit when need be," he explained, keeping his eyes forward. Sasuke who'd been watching his sensei as he'd spoken now turned to face the front as well.

"Is that all?" he said barely that amused.

They all entered into the room where they were to receive their mission from the hokage. She sat behind a long table amid other shinobi who helped maintain and distribute missions. She glanced up as they entered.

"You're late," she stated simply then sighed, "Though I suppose it's to be expected with Kakashi's new book keeping him occupied." Kakashi scratched the back of his head and smiled sheepishly. Tsunade then looked back up at them after reading a file on her desk.

"Right then…your mission for today…is a C rank. Escort a caravan from Tanzuka town to the capital while guarding against common highway thugs and bandits." Sasuke scoffed. "Is there something the matter?" Tsunade challenged. Sasuke just turned away while crossing his arms.

"No, nothing," he replied although he wished they'd at least be able to tackle a B ranked mission by now. Although he supposed he shouldn't have tried to get his hopes up for his first mission back in the village. Nevertheless Tsunade went on to explain to him as he was still showing an air of stubbornness.

"Well regardless, I'm giving you one of the easier missions to break you in since you've been gone for some time. Besides it's not like I downgraded you to a D mission so just take it or leave it," she huffed crossing her arms. Sasuke scoffed again.

"Humph, I have no choice but to take it do I? After all if I even indicate I don't want it you'll just throw a fit." Tsunade's eye twitched again.

"Well…I see that despite all of that time away…you're still an arrogant brat like I remember." Now Sasuke's eye twitched.

"And I see you're still trying to look young at the age of what, fifty two, fifty three now?" he snidely retorted. Tsunade was on her feet now.

"You wanna run that by me again brat!" she retorted raising her voice.

"Humph, gladly…I said…Oof!" Suddenly Sakura's elbow met Sasuke's gut and knocked the wind out of him. He doubled over coughing and trying to breathe again. His gaze fell on his rosette partner. "S-Sakura…what the hell was…that for…urk!" Next thing he knew, he was in a headlock. Meanwhile Sakura was smiling up at her teacher.

"So sorry milady, he didn't mean it really. Let me talk to him, I'm sure I can bring him around to his senses," she apologized to her master while holding Sasuke who was struggling to breathe still in the headlock. Meanwhile, her inner self was screaming.

 _You idiot!_ Her inner voice growled slash yelled. _You have no idea how ferocious lady Tsunade can be! Are you insane, your sharingan has nothing on her inner beast; Cha!_ Meanwhile, Lady Tsunade had re seated herself.

"Humph, anyways…the details of your mission are here," she stated pushing a piece of paper towards the edge of the table.

"Right," Kakashi replied walking up to retrieve it. Sasuke glanced up glaring daggers at the fifth hokage; finally able to breathe again as he'd recovered from the previous gut buster and Sakura had loosened her grip.

"Heh you got a problem kid," Tsunade quipped. Sasuke smirked.

"I might be just a kid but you're still just a fifty year old fossil!"

"Huh, what was that!?" Tsunade began to roar. Sasuke didn't get a chance to cherish the moment as Sakura retightened her grip on her chokehold causing him to choke again.

"Sasuke could you please just shut-up!" she growled. Before anything more could be said or done, the woman from the cipher core who'd shoved past them in the hall burst into the room rushing straight towards the hokage.

"Lady Tsunade, terrible news!" she exclaimed in an urgent tone. Lady Tsunade sighed as her work just seemed to keep piling up.

"Now what is it?" she demanded.

"An emergency dispatch…from the Sand!" she panted. Sakura, hearing this straightened, letting Sasuke go from under her arm. Sasuke held his throat, the death grip forever etched into his memory. Now he definitely knew Sakura was different. She never would've done something like that to him before. Meanwhile, Tsunade sat up straighter in her chair.

"Where is this dispatch?" The woman handed her a piece of paper.

"I deciphered it as quickly as I could," she replied. Tsunade began reading. Suddenly her features became completely serious.

"What the…" she muttered, audible enough for all to hear. Meanwhile, Sasuke had finally recovered himself and was eyeing her seriously. Suddenly a gasp sounded from Iruka who'd been helping at the table today along with Shizune from behind Tsunade as they'd come to read the message too.

"So what is it?" Sasuke finally asked, breaking the rest of the silence. Something about their faces made him feel uneasy. Lady Tsunade lifted her head, giving team Kakashi a dead serious look.

"It's the Kazekage of the Sand," she explained. "It seems he's been taken prisoner by the Akatsuki!" Everyone reacted to the news in their own way. Sasuke just fell extremely silent. Eventually all eyes feel on him. He clenched his fists and his teeth some.

"So…you mean Gaara…has been taken?" he asked monotonously. He felt their gazes. "So…then they're back again!" Tsunade nodded her head.

"Yes…we've been studying them. We know more about the Akatsuki than any other village. Therefore…the Sand village…has officially requested our help." She held the team of ninja before her in a serious gaze. Shizune gasped beside her.

"You're not suggesting that Team Kakashi…" she started.

"This is urgent! I haven't time to form another squad," she explained. "And besides…we have someone here who's actually fought the Akatsuki." Kakashi visibly bristled as he remembered his encounter.

"Yes but…even so…" Shizune tried. Tsunade ignored her.

Alright…Team Kakashi…I'm assigning you a new mission. You're to go to the Sand Village at once. Find out what's going on there and keep us informed. You're to remain there and follow their orders. Give them any backup they need."

"Right," agreed Sakura.

"Okay," Kakashi nodded. Then all eyes fell onto Sasuke. The Uchiha remained silent for a while. Then a grin found a way onto his face as he looked up again.

"I'd say this is as good an opportunity as any to get information on my brother," he stated. "Oh and don't worry…this time…I won't be so anxious and I won't go looking for him. This time…I do things right!" He brought a fist into his hand to signify he meant what he said. Tsunade smirked, the past insult exchange between the two dismissed for now.

"Good…then get to it!" she ordered.

"Right," Team Kakashi replied in unison. Then they vanished out of the room. Sasuke returned to his house to repack his bag with better equipment. As he went about doing so, he bumped into his dresser and knocked over a photograph.

"Huh? Whoops!" He bent down and picked it up then smiled. It was the photo of all of Team seven from his annoyed to no end look as he turned the other way so he wouldn't have to face "him", Sakura bent over and beaming into the camera in between him and Naruto, Naruto himself with his arms crossed over his chest and his teeth gritted as he glared daggers at him on the other side. Meanwhile, in the back, Kakashi had both his hands on top of their heads as he gave a nervous eye smile to the camera. This picture…was one of Sasuke's most prized possessions.

He stood up straight and put the photo back in its usual spot. Then he leaned over and picked up his pack again, shifting it onto his back. He turned again to face the only picture of Naruto he had and smiled again.

"Soon…I promise I'll bring you home," he whispered to the picture. Then he left the room.

After leaving the house again, he made his way to the front gate. Once again, he was the first to arrive and so all he could do was wait. Sakura arrived second again and Kakashi last. Of course Iruka and Lady Tsunade were there to see them off.

"Alright, let's get going so we get their faster," Sasuke suggested. Kakashi remained silent as Sakura saluted her teacher.

"Be back soon milady. We won't let you down!"

"Good!" Tsunade replied strongly. Iruka sighed beside her then looked up.

"Sasuke…good luck out there and you too Sakura," he said. Sasuke smirked.

"Thanks," he replied. He was forever grateful to Iruka sensei. Since Naruto's departure and much before his own with the old Toadstool, he'd been someone other than Kakashi he could confide in. In fact it was all thanks to Iruka that he hated ramen less than he had before. After Naruto had left, Sasuke had found himself simply drawn to Ichiraku's ramen noodle bar as it'd been a place Naruto had frequented.

There he would order a bowl for himself and wallow in his many regrets from that one day and many more as well. That's been how Iruka had found him and soon they'd struck up a conversation. Sasuke quickly found out why Naruto had confided in Iruka many times before when he'd been troubled and he could tell that Iruka was also one of the ones who'd been truly affected by Naruto's leaving of the village. It hadn't taken him long to get him to admit that he'd thought of Naruto as a younger kid brother. After that, the two would just meet once in a while for a ramen run.

The trio began to walk away from the village gates. Suddenly something jumped in front of them.

"Hey there!" exclaimed Jiraiya the toad sage. The trio halted. "So off on a mission Sasuke?" he questioned.

"That's right and it's extremely important so…" Sasuke said indicating that the toad sage would have to let them move on. Jiraiya chuckled.

"Well…good for you…but more importantly," he stated as he walked up to Lady Tsunade. He gave her a serious look. "I've got some disturbing news…the Sand's Kazekage…"

"Yes I know." Tsunade interrupted him. She lifted her index to point towards Team Kakashi. "I'm dispatching as squad…they're just about to leave." Jiraiya turned to face them surprised.

"Oh well…alright then…" he eyed Sasuke and flagged him as he walked off to the side. "Sasuke, a word please," he stated. Sasuke followed his sensei's lead and met with him a ways off from the others.

"Yeah, what is it?" he questioned. Jiraiya gave him a serious look.

"You remember what we talked about when we were discussing your older brother right?" Sasuke nodded. "Well…just remember…don't be jumping the gun this again. You remember what happened at the motel that one time so I expect you to be smarter this time around. Oh and another thing…if you at all come to face Itachi…gauge his strength and if he's still too powerful for you then don't be foolish and act alone. You've gotten stronger but…that curse mark of yours plus over exerting your eyes is a hindrance. You'd do well to remember restraint." Sasuke huffed.

"Yeah, yeah, I know already." He went to turn back the group but Jiraiya caught his shoulder. Sasuke turned back to face him, his face still stern.

"I'm serious Sasuke. If you're not careful that curse mark will consume you faster than you can react. Which reminds me…" he reached into the folds of his pockets and retrieved a few pieces of paper with marking on them and handed them to Sasuke. Sasuke looked down at them confused.

"What're these for?" he wondered.

"Let's just say they're insurance," Jiraiya explained. "If you at all find yourself pushed past your limit where your curse mark starts to consume you…place one of these anywhere on your body and all of your chakra will be suppressed immediately. It'll keep you from being taken over." Sasuke eyed the pieces of parchment in his hand for a few seconds before nodding and putting them in his pocket.

"Right, I'll keep that in mind. Thanks," he said as he walked back to the group.

"Be careful," Jiraiya muttered after him. As Sasuke rejoined the group, Jiraiya then walked up to Kakashi and spoke only so he could hear him.

"Kakashi…make sure that kid doesn't do anything stupid. I can trust you…right?" Kakashi gave his signature eye smile and chuckled.

"Of course…after all…before he was yours, he was my student. I'm pretty sure I can handle Sasuke." Meanwhile, Sasuke had decided it was time to leave. He began walking and called back over his shoulder.

"C'mon you two…I thought this was urgent. Let's go already!" Sakura snapped out of her own thoughts and rushed to catch up to the already departing Sasuke.

"Alright, alright, coming!" she called. Kakashi smiled under his mask then turned to salute the Hokage with two of his fingers.

"We're off," he declared. Jiraiya smiled nodding.

"Right and don't forget about what we talked about earlier." Kakashi nodded.

"Right!" he replied. Jiraiya just chuckled.

"There he goes again." The three at the gate watched their retreating figures.

"Worried Iruka," Tsunade teased as She and Iruka gazed after them.

"Worried?" he questioned. Then a smile came to his face. "No not a bit. He's no longer a rookie shinobi who needs me to worry about him; Sakura too." Tsunade smirked.

"How is it they grow so fast?" she wondered. "It's a mystery. Jiraiya chuckled. Suddenly, the backs they were watching flickered out of existence as they took to the trees in the direction of the Hidden Sand Village.

Temari was walking peacefully along the road back to her village when Sakura noticed her from the trees.

"Temari!" she shouted out calling the Sand Kunoichi's attention. The team of four landed on the ground as she turned to face them. She'd had a bad feeling since her teacup had cracked at the teahouse she'd stopped by on the way; a bad omen showing itself to her as it had in the wind she'd felt leaving the Leaf village earlier.

"What…what is it?" she wondered. Sakura came forth.

"I thought since we're headed to the same place, we could travel together," she replied.

"To the same place?" she questioned. "Why would you be going to the Sand?" Kakashi gave her a grave look.

"We've been dispatched as a level one emergency response team from the Leaf." Temari's eyes widened. "It seems your younger brother the Kazekage has been kidnapped by the Akatsuki." Temari bit her lip.

"Damn it," she cursed. "I knew something bad had happened. I just knew it!" Sasuke stepped forth.

"At any rate, I believe we should hurry up and get there as fast as we can. It is an emergency," he stated. Temari nodded.

"Alright!" she agreed. They then wasted no time taking to the trees to head off again, Filling Temari in along the way. They continued on into nightfall in silence. As they passed through the trees, Sasuke once again burst forth with unimaginable speed gritting his teeth. For some reason, he seemed to be the one in a bigger hurry.

"Hey what's gotten into him?" Temari question Sakura. Sakura turned to the Sand Kunoich.

"I'm not sure but he's been jumping ahead like that since we left the Leaf. I'm not sure but it could have something to do with…"

"It has nothing to do with Itachi!" Sasuke interrupted, calling everyone's attention frontward. "But it does have something to do with what he told me once. Don't worry…my revenge on my brother is the farthest thing from my mind right now," he tried to assure everyone. However, as he thought back to that day in the motel, he couldn't help but get slightly more angry inside but not so much at his brother but rather at the words he'd spoken.

 _Itachi Uchiha stood over Sasuke in the motel staring uninterested at Jiraiya who'd just shown up to rescue Naruto from being captured. His red sharingan blazed as he responded to what Jiraiya had just said._

 _"_ _Naruto is the prize the Akatsuki are after," stated his brother. "And make no mistake…we will have him," he assured Jiraiya._

Sasuke gritted his teeth harder as he remembered some of his journey with Jiraiya.

 _"_ _Why's my…I mean…why're the Akatsuki…after Naruto?" Sasuke wondered as they walked down a dirt road. Jiraiya stopped in his tracks and sighed turning around._

 _"_ _Make no mistake Sasuke…it's not Naruto they're after…it's what's inside him?" Sasuke cocked an eyebrow._

 _"_ _Inside him?" he wondered. Jiraiya turned around front again as they continued walking._

 _"_ _You and most kids in the village weren't told this because it's forbidden but…fourteen years ago when the nine tailed demon fox spirit attacked the village and the fourth hokage stopped him…he didn't exactly kill him," he explained._

 _"_ _Huh?"_

 _"_ _Heh the truth of the matter is…the nine tail's power was too strong and so…in order to save the village…he sealed the nine tails inside of a newborn baby boy who's umbilical cord had just been cut and died from the exertion. That baby boy as you can probably guess…was in fact Naruto Uzumaki." Sasuke's eyes widened._

 _"_ _So wait…was that what that power was when we fought…that red chakra that was leaking out of his body?" Jiraiya cocked an eyebrow._

 _"_ _Ya mean back when you tried to desert the village but he came after you?" Sasuke nodded, visibly flinching at the reminder._

 _"_ _Humph, well yes I suppose…I mean…I've never actually seen it myself but before he'd left I'd been trying to teach him how to better control the power he had," Jiraiya replied. Sasuke then looked at the ground thinking._

 _"_ _I see," he stated. "Then…is it true…what he told me that day…that the fourth hokage was his own father?" Jiraiya stopped walking all together and Sasuke ran into his back. Jiraiya turned to face his pupil_

 _"_ _Wha…how'd you know that?" he asked surprised._

 _"_ _He told me that he figured out the truth about his parents," Sasuke responded rubbing his nose. Jiraiya eyed him as he continued. "He also said that his parents didn't love him because they were so willing to turn him into a demon vessel…I mean…I guess that is pretty low…even if it was to save the village." Jiraiya turned full on to face his pupil._

 _"_ _Now you can stop right there," he stated calling forth Sasuke's attention. "Now I'm not sure where Naruto got his information from but I know for a fact that there is absolutely no way that the fourth hokage would ever sacrifice his only son without loving him greatly enough to entrust him with the future of the shinobi world." Sasuke gave him a criticizing look._

 _"_ _And how do you know?" he challenged. Jiraiya just leaned in and flicked his forehead causing the Uchiha to groan in annoyance._

 _"_ _Because…after all…the fourth hokage was none other than my own student back in the day and I can tell you without a doubt that the heart that he held within him was far greater than one could even imagine a shinobi to have." Sasuke was now listening intently. "And his mother…well…she was just as feisty and hotheaded as he is and more. She was the nine tail's host before Naruto and so she was entrusting him with the future balance between all tailed beasts." Sasuke's eyes widened._

 _"_ _There's more than one?" he questioned._

 _"_ _Why of course. There are nine in total but the rest are spread throughout the five great nations. It's said that every village has one and each one has a host all their own. For example that Gaara kid you two fought during the Chunin exams. He was the host to the one tail. From what I hear, you actually got to see it didn't you?"_

 _"_ _Ya mean that messed up kid was…" Jiraiya's face suddenly turned grim._

 _"_ _Yes…and don't take is being "messed up" as you say too lightly. He's just like Naruto because after all…everyone like Naruto with a tailed beast inside…has had to grow up just like him. Unloved and unwanted…by everyone around them." Sasuke looked down at his feet as he took this in._

 _"_ _So…they're hated and treated the same way Naruto was in our village," he verified. Jiraiya nodded gravely._

 _"_ _Indeed. In fact…now that I think about it… perhaps it's not just the nine tails that the Akatsuki are after."_

As this thought resonated in his head, Sasuke felt angrier than before. Something inside of him just propelled him to keep pushing forward and farther from the group. Meanwhile Sakura was confused by his explanation.

"Sasuke…hey…what do you mean by something he told you once?" Sasuke grit his teeth.

"The Akatsuki…they're not just after Gaara…they're also after Naruto." Sakura's eyes widened. "I know why. And you probably do too…don't you Sakura? You probably found out from Lady Tsunade." Sakura remained silent, casting her eyes downwards. "About the nine tails sealed inside of Naruto." Temari's head snapped up at this. Sakura remained looking downcast as she recalled some childhood memories of everyone in the village avoiding and talking ill of Naruto behind his back and sometimes right up front. Too many times had she watched the abuse the adults had dished out upon him and her own parents had warned her never to go near him which had initially led to her bullying him slightly in their academy days.

"Gaara and Naruto are alike," Sasuke continued up ahead. "They have both got some sort of monster locked up inside of them in order to keep their villages safe or to be used a weapon at a moment's notice. And what do they get in return? They get hatred and scorn from others. They can't fit in anywhere and nobody wants them. They just don't have a purpose for living anymore, they have to find one. For Gaara…for a time…it was to kill before he could get slaughtered and for Naruto…it was to shield himself by gaining power and become stronger so he could to the same…to strike at the leaf…before they could strike at him.

"And now these Akatsuki bastards are after them and there a total of nine in all. In a way…I suppose it's the worst part. The only see them as monsters…tools…weapons…just a means to an end! Everything about them was exactly the same and that's how…that's how he's the one who won that time. It wasn't that I was too weak…I was just reckless and jumped the gun…over exerting myself…all because I wanted to win and prove myself. But Naruto…he could understand him better than I could…and that's how he won, at the same time…opening his eyes so that he could carve his own path and become Kazekage." There was a slight pause as Sasuke thought to himself. He then clenched his fists.

"It's because they're the same…that I can't waste a moment. I don't ever want to see someone feeling that alone…or have their bonds ripped away…ever again!" And with that Sasuke pressed off against another tree branch, his chakra proving too much as the bark was skinned. Meanwhile Temari looked ahead in wonderment at the back of the Uchiha. Suddenly she felt something wet hit her cheek and she looked up. Though he was facing away from her, she could tell…Sasuke was weeping not only for her brother but for his friend as well and perhaps…also for anyone else who might feel their pain. At this, all she could do was bow her head and…

 _Sasuke…Uchiha I…Thank you!_


	5. Chapter 4 (And Add a Bag of Bones)

**_Chapter 4_**

 ** _(And Add a Bag of Bones)_**

It was mid-day once again on their second day of travelling. Sasuke was still keeping up his pace in the front of the group. Sakura reached into her pouch and pulled out a food pill, raising it to her mouth. Kakashi who was right beside her raised an eyebrow.

"Ya know…those food pellets are only for emergencies," he stated as she popped it in her mouth. "And a girl at your age should especially be careful with the high fa-" Sakura crunched her pill and pushed ahead so she didn't have to listen to her sensei as he "went there". Temari eyed him with an annoyed expression on her face as he wondered if she was mad at him for something.

 _You ever heard of sexual harassment old man?_ She wondered as she chewed her own food pill. Meanwhile, Sakura pulled up next to Sasuke.

"Sasuke?" she spoke up. Sasuke glanced at her through his peripheral vision.

"Yeah?" he pondered. Sakura took a moment before answering, strengthening her own resolve to continue.

"I was wondering…I know it's not any of my business really but…these Akatsuki guys who're after Gaara and Naruto…well…your older brother Itachi is one of them isn't he?" she questioned. Sasuke seemed surprised that Sakura knew about his brother's involvement with the Akatsuki. He couldn't remember ever telling her about it. Heck, he hadn't even told her his name. Sakura turned to face Sasuke with a serious face.

"Ya know…it's not like I just spent my time training these past two and a half years. I stole into Lady Tsunade's library and snuck out of the village as much as I could," she confirmed. She faced forward again. "And now…the one thing that bothered me more than anything else finally makes sense." Sasuke gave her a quizzical look.

"And what's that?" he asked, not knowing what she was talking about. Sakura remained facing forward. Finally after a long silence, she spoke again.

"Sasuke…do you remember the day when team seven was formed…when Kakashi sensei had us tell him what our dreams for the future were?"

"Yeah," Sasuke nodded.

"Well…even though it seemed like I wasn't paying as much attention to Naruto…I actually caught every word he said. From his favorite food being ramen and how he didn't like waiting for it to cook. I even heard him when he said he wanted to become hokage but…" Sasuke waited as she thought about the memory. Meanwhile Kakashi was listening intently too as he was curious to see where Sakura was going with her speech. When she finally spoke again, it was quieter than before.

"It never really was his real dream…was it?" she spoke to the air. Sasuke furrowed his brow.

"What do you mean…it wasn't his real dream?" Sakura just kept staring ahead.

"Don't you remember…he said he wanted to be the greatest hokage…then the village would have to stop disrespecting him…and start treating him like he was somebody…somebody important? During his speech I was watching him…curious I suppose…but I noticed something strange about him as he said those words…something that made me feel uneasy from the get go. At the time I just brushed it off as nothing but now that I think back on it…he was fidgeting with his headband wasn't he? Tugging it this way and that, adjusting and readjusting it on his forehead. He made it seem as though he was just showing it off more than necessary but in reality…he was uneasy…it was as if he didn't want to be wearing it and…as he spoke…I got a good look at his face. His smile…it was fake…I'm sure of it and his eyes…when I saw them…they were filled with fear and anger." Sasuke couldn't believe it.

"Are you sure?" he asked dumbfounded. Sakura nodded curtly.

"Yes…especially as time went on. The whole thing had been bugging me since day one and then…and then there were the Chunin exams." She visibly clenched her fists harder and grit her teeth. Sasuke could see her shaking and he himself subconsciously thought of the curse mark that was still on his shoulder.

"Tell me…" he started. "Did you…ever figure out what it was that Orochimaru had done to Naruto before he gave me the curse mark?" he asked her as she'd been the only one of the three to remain awake at the time. She looked back at him curiously.

"What do you mean?" she asked. Sasuke looked up at her.

"You know…before Orochimaru marked me…Naruto had shown up and had begun attacking him and then…at some point…Orochimaru caught him and he did something to Naruto's stomach!"

"His stomach?" questioned Kakashi now sternly. He caught up with his two students some more. The two turned to face him over their shoulders. His eyes were dead serious.

"What's the matter sensei?" Sakura asked curiously.

"Naruto's belly…that's where Orochimaru struck?" he pressed. The two ahead of him nodded. "That…was where the sealing formula was for the nine tails." Their eyes widened. Sasuke looked back to Sakura.

"You don't think that…" he started. Sakura turned away and faced the front again.

"No, I doubt Orochimaru would've marked him. He was only interested in you at the time." Sasuke looked down.

"Right," he agreed.

"But I was actually referring to what happened after you two went unconscious and Orochimaru left. Someone else appeared." Sasuke's eyes widened again at the new information.

"What!? Who was it?" he demanded to know. Sakura paused for a moment…then she glanced over her shoulder as she said,

"A snake named Viper." Then Sakura entered a flashback of that day while she began to explain it to Sasuke and Kakashi.

 _Sakura watched in horror as the previously acclaimed grass ninja now known to them as Orochimaru, sent his neck shooting forth, embedding his fangs into Sasuke Uchiha's neck. As his neck retreated back to his body, Sasuke began to writhe in pain. Sakura just couldn't believe it._

 _"_ _Sasuke!" she said shocked. Then she turned an angry yet fearful glare upon their attacker. "You! What have you done to Sasuke?!" she demanded to know. The one known as Orochimaru lifted two fingers in a hand sign, his one snake like eye staring out from the rip in his flesh mask. He grinned maliciously._

 _"_ _I just gave him a little parting gift," he stated simply. Sasuke fell to his knees struggling against the pain. Orochimaru continued to hold the questioning rosette in his gaze. "Very soon…Sasuke will seek me out and desire my power. In the meantime…I've enjoyed the demonstration of the powers you already possess," he almost hissed as he disappeared within the large branch of the tree. As he left, the setting sun began to come out from behind the clouds. A loud pain bearing scream echoed throughout the trees as Sasuke feel once again._

 _"_ _Sasuke!" Sakura responded frantically, rushing over to her partner to see what was wrong. "What is it, what's he done to you? Are you…" she continued to ask questions and babble not knowing what to do. Sasuke continued to struggle against the pain. She took his arm trying to help him stand some._

 _"_ _It's okay," she tried, on the verge of tears but fighting to keep them held back. Sasuke tried to push himself up but the motion only made it worse. He let out another long scream as Sakura tried to console him. "Hang on…you're gonna be okay!" she spoke frantically again as Sasuke's screaming ceased and he collapsed into her lap. Her eyes widened with fear._

 _"_ _Sasuke!" she tried to rouse him. "Sasuke!" It didn't work and the rosette soon started to feel all helpless and exposed…all alone. She then called out to her other teammate._

 _"_ _Naruto!" she cried. "Naruto, Sasuke's hurt! I need you! Naruto!" A flock of angry crows picked up and flew off at her raised hysterical voice, startling her. Then she heard another voice._

 _"_ _You know," it seemed to hiss. Her eyes widened in fear once more, her head whipping around as she heard movement, trying to place a location. "That screaming of yours is pointless," it continued. Her eyes fell on a snake, making its way up the tree. She placed Sasuke's head on the bark of the branch they were on and stood as the snake stopped on a different branch and raised its head. It's mouth then moved as it finished its sentence. "I don't think he can hear you," it taunted._

 _"_ _You…you're a…a…" Sakura tried. The snake's body shivered as it laughed._

 _"_ _A…a…a…snake!" It finished mockingly. "Why yes…yes I am. The name's Viper and you three must be squad seven of the leaf village. Sakura Haruno…" its eyes darted to Sasuke's limp form behind her. "Sasuke Uchiha…" it then swerved its head to face the blonde haired boy Sakura had pinned to a tree with her kunai by his jumpsuit to keep him from falling. "…And of course….Naruto…Uzumaki." The snake's eyes fell back onto Sakura and she tensed, pulling out a kunai from her holster and getting ready. The snake laughed again._

 _"_ _Oh don't worry I'm not here to kill any of you. It would be a complete waste of my time and I wouldn't want to damage mine and Orochimaru's treasure now would I." The snake seemed to grin. Sakura readied herself more, not trusting the snake in the slightest._

 _"_ _So you're with Orochimaru are you? Well…you're crazy if you think I'll just stand by and watch you take Sasuke!" The snake laughed again, almost harder._

 _"_ _And why would I want Sasuke?" it queried. "I have no need for sharingan or a new vessel. I'm perfect just the way I am. Besides, I've found a better treasure and once I've finished talking it over with my…partner…I believe he'll see things my way too. He won't even care about the Uchiha once I've opened his eyes to newer and brighter possibilities." Sakura grit her teeth._

 _"_ _Yeah and who exactly are you referring to? What treasure? And if that's true then why'd he have to choose Sasuke in the first place?" she demanded to know all at once. The snake coiled her body in a new direction as she was asked these questions and yawned._

 _"_ _My, my, my, my, my, we're full of questions today…aren't we?" Sakura waited for her to answer. "Oh fine…if you really want to know…let's just say…I myself need pawns in this game I'm playing in order to bring down my enemies and free my true master from his slumber. Your precious Uchiha is just one of those pawns I need. Meanwhile, the treasure that I'm referring to is right underneath your nose and if I were you I'd pay more attention to it otherwise…it might just slip away. Simply put…there's someone you should be more concerned about leaving you than your precious kiddy crush there; after all…he'll be the key to everything I've planned; my…"unpredictable" trump card." Sakura's eyes widened at the word unpredictable._

 _"_ _Wait…you're not talking about…Naruto now are you?" she asked hastily, not knowing what anyone could want with such an annoying loudmouth. The snake just grinned evilly._

 _"_ _Well…you certainly catch on quick…I'll give you that much." Sakura shift her stance._

 _"_ _What could you possibly want with Naruto!?"_

 _"_ _Ah, ah, ah….that would be telling now wouldn't it?"_

 _"_ _Then why did you let me know about it in the first place? And what are you doing here?" Sakura countered. The female snake chuckled._

 _"_ _I told you didn't I? I need pawns and it doesn't matter how weak or strong they are just so long as they play their part. I'm here because I chose you to be one of my pawns too and I know that at some point you'll divulge this information to someone. When and to whom is up to you and whatever happens afterwards shall lead you down new paths that will intertwine with others fates. Just remember, the information you know now once given is like a domino effect. What you say and do will infinitely affect another person and then what they say and do will infinitely affect someone else and so on." Sakura began to visibly shake on her tree. The serpentine smiled._

 _"_ _It's tough pill to swallow I know…the knowledge that you have the power to tip the scale. However, with your current lack of skill and power…I dare say you'll expire long before these young chaps do and you won't be around to keep it from tipping dangerously close to the edge of collapsing! After all…that's what happens more oft than not…to any weaker pawn." The serpentine watched as the girl took in everything she was saying. She grinned then after a while then yawned. "Well anyway, I'm off. I have a lot to do before I can retire for the night. Just keep in mind what I said dearie. I believe you'll find a solution to "your" problem in no time and hopefully…make yourself…a stronger pawn." The serpentine turned to leave but Sakura stopped her._

 _"_ _Wait!" she exclaimed. The serpentine turned her head back. Sakura took a while before she spoke again. "What makes you think…what makes you think that Sasuke or Naruto would ever leave the village? I know…I know for a fact…that they'd never side with you!" Sakura finished with a shout as she raised her head to glare daggers into the snake. The snake just grinned._

 _"_ _You do…do you?" she teased. She chuckled turning back again. "Well I know for a fact that you don't know your teammates as well as you think. Sasuke…you've been following him around like a pathetic little fangirl since preschool and you've never once known the roots of his pain." Sakura furrowed her brow. "Well here's the break down. At the tender age of eight, you precious Sasuke had his entire clan; his entire family slaughtered by his own older brother for reasons he'll probably never discover. Then his treacherous brother shows him the bloody occurrence with his powerful genjutsu, mentally scarring him for the rest of his life!" Sakura winced at the serpentine's sharp tone._

 _"_ _And that's not all…is it?" the snake continued. "You were called annoying by the very boy you idolized because you were prattling on about how annoying your other new teammate was. You never knew Sasuke's pain…and how could even begin to imagine Naruto's pain. That idiotic smile he wears every day; him acting like a little brat all of the time; those are just masks he wears so no one can even guess at his true feelings."_

 _"_ _W-what are you saying?" Sakura stammered. The snake's grin widened._

 _"_ _Why I'm saying that the Naruto you know…is not the real Naruto you should be concerned with. The true Naruto lies beneath the surface of his ruses and you know what…he's a monster." Sakura shook her head._

 _"_ _No! I don't believe it! Naruto…he's not a monster! He's my friend; my comrade!"_

 _"_ _He's a monster!" persisted the snake. "And do you want to know why?" Sakura continued shaking her head, trying to deny the snake's words, trying not to listen to the bad feeling she was getting in the pit of her stomach._

 _"_ _It's because…while it's one thing to witness the destruction of one's clan and loved ones by one's elder brother; it's completely another to have murdered someone innocent with your own two hands!" Sakura froze, eyes widening in terror._

 _"_ _W-what?" she squeaked. The snake grinned._

 _"_ _At the tender age of five, an age where children are even more oblivious to life's cruel realities, young Naruto Uzumaki…murdered an innocent civilian child…his own age." The snake known as Viper watched as Sakura's face froze in horror. It seemed the girl would be sick. The serpentine grinned._

 _"_ _That's right. Your hyper active knuckleheaded partner…is a murderer. Of course…no child at the age of five would've ever been capable of such a deed on their own. Certain circumstances had been at play…he'd simply wanted to play a game with her because he was so lonely and nobody ever played with him. Since I was just slithering along on my merry way through life, I got a front row seat to it all." Sakura started feebly shaking her head again but found she couldn't stop herself from listening._

 _"_ _The girl had of course been warned about the boy and he'd been carrying a kunai around at the time, probably hoping to throw it at tree somewhere along the line. As usual, poor little Naruto didn't understand why everyone was avoiding him, so when she tried to run, he got angry and tried to force her to play with him or to at least give him an answer. The two wound up fighting and little Naruto wasn't paying attention to his kunai and before either one knew it…the kunai was thrust through the poor girl's ribcage, puncturing a lung._

 _"_ _Now our little Naruto was rather taken by this and it scared him something awful as he watched the poor girl die from his blade. I must admit…it was a rather interesting show…especially when he tried to revive her." The snake paused to watch Sakura then finally turned to slither away. She projected her voice as she went. "So…there you can have it. Despite what you want to believe and what you don't…the truth is still the truth. If you really want to know…the girl's name was Mao Tamaki. You can always check her records in the village archives if you're curious. But still…nothing changes the fact that the wicked cold fangs of hatred and darkness were sunk into Naruto's heart…long before anyone bothered to see him."_

 _And with that, the serpentine was gone, leaving Sakura Haruno with her two unconscious teammates and her ever restless thoughts._

As her tale came to a close, everyone was silent. Sakura had made her choice. The first people she ever told were Sasuke, Temari and Kakashi and the three seemed to be trying to come to grips with the whole story. Sasuke could hardly believe a word. Back in the valley of the end when he and Naruto had fought, Naruto hadn't even mentioned the girl or had even indicated something close. And he'd thought that he'd been scarred for life. Sakura continued to look grave.

"What's more is…she was right," she continued. "During my two years of training, I finally snuck into the archives to see for myself and found the girl's name. In the report of her death…it mentioned a puncture wound to her chest, right near her left lung." Kakashi behind them just shook his head.

"I'm sorry but…that's just too unbelievable to me," he stated simply. Sasuke nodded in agreement.

"The story doesn't add up," he commented. "How would a five year get a hold of a kunai knife?"

"Exactly," Sakura nodded. "That's what I thought. Then I found something even more interesting." She paused and everyone waited for her to continue. "In Mao's reports I found that the medics found faint residual traces of foreign chakra in her body. They assumed the weapon used was a chakra blade but with Viper's story in play, if everything she said was true and no one ever found out about the…accident…then I seriously doubt that Naruto could've executed the chakra control required to even inflict a tiny wound with any kind of weapon and…is a five year old really strong enough to puncture a lung? Plus the reports of the condition the girl was in when she was found indicated the stream of chakra went right through her lung and out her back." Sasuke nodded.

"So then…that would mean…Viper had her sights on him long before Orochimaru ever had sights on me or my brother. If what you say is true…then…I suspect foul play on Viper's part in order to turn him into her puppet. The fact that she was there to see it means she could've chosen any time to put sweet words into his head," Sasuke thought aloud.

"Yes," agreed Kakashi. "And with all of the hatred and scorn he received from the villagers for carrying the nine tails…"

"That would immediately cause him to trust the first person who showed kindness to him…even if it was fake," finished Temari. She grit her teeth. "Damn it! The way they're treated…as if they're the plague or something…but then…who am I to talk. Because of my father…Gaara's had to face those same looks of hatred and scorn. He's had to be alone and for a time, he became so isolated and thought the only reason he was alive was to kill. If I'd only been there for him…Damn it!"

"It's a bitter pill to swallow when you find out a demon lives inside you," Kakashi spoke up. "And it's hard for those who take the chance to get too close because even if they tried…they could never truly understand their friends." The group became silent once more until Sakura broke it yet again.

"Anyways…what I'm trying to say is…we can't give up! Naruto is still our friend…and it's our duty to save him from the darkness he's fallen into. Orochimaru used to be a part of the Akatsuki…so the closer we get to them…the closer we get to finding information about Orochimaru…and Viper. So the closer we are to them…the closer we are to Naruto!" Sakura finished, her eyes burning with fierce determination. Sasuke was amazed by it and inspired even more so to find his missing comrade. So he grunted and nodded in agreement while Kakashi, still behind them, agreed mutually.

It was set. They would find and save Gaara. Find information on the Akatsuki and eventually, Orochimaru and his servant Viper who was still a bigger mystery than either and then they'd rescue Naruto from whatever spell she'd placed him under. They were all set…and Sasuke…was more determined to save Naruto than he was to kill his brother.

 _Hang on Naruto,_ he thought to himself as he pressed forward. _"_ _I'm coming!"_

* * *

There were many things that were to be expected from the long journey to the Sand. For starters, the amount of time that it would take; three days in total. Then there was the possibility of sand storms once they hit the dessert which did in fact occur. What wasn't expected was the news that Temari's younger brother Kankuro had been fatally poisoned and that he was just barely hanging on to his life by a thread.

As the leaf shinobi ran through the Sand village with Temari and the two escorts towards the medical ward where Kankuro was, Temari couldn't help but feel more worried than she'd ever felt in her life as now both of her little brothers were in danger. According to the escorts, Kankuro had chased after Gaara and his kidnappers but had been poisoned by one of the Akatsuki members with no one, not even the great Lady Chiyo able to find a counter active antidote. Now he didn't have much longer before his life was over. As they ran Sakura glanced over at Temari's worried face.

"Don't give up yet Temari," she spoke with determination. "Let me take a look at him." With that the shinobi quickened their paces. As they arrived in the medical ward, Temari rushed into the room with Sakura hot on her heels.

"Kankuro!" she called out to her brother causing the people in the room to look up. One of the elderly ones, a woman with a tight bun on the top of her head, turned at the same time the others did and noticed Kakashi. Upon her noticing him…she reacted, thus bringing out the second thing that was totally unexpected of this trip; an old woman barreling towards Kakashi Hatake with intent to kill.

"Revenge is mine!" she called out, leaping into the air to attack. She sent a fast and strong – for an elderly woman – punch towards Kakashi who just stood in the doorway of the emergency room with utter shock on his features. However, Sasuke was quicker than the old woman and caught her hand, giving her a hard glare. She leapt back again to free her hand of his grip and skidded to a halt turning up dust from the floor and drawing everyone's attention. Sasuke continued to stare at her.

"What was that for?" he questioned monotonously. "We're here as allies not enemies so why the sudden burst of energy?" The old woman ignored him though, keeping her gaze on Kakashi.

"I haven't forgotten what you did," she stated. "I've waited for this day…White Fang of the leaf. The day I reap vengeance on you for what you did to my son!" Kakashi had his hands in the air defensively.

"No, no, no…you see I'm not…" Kakashi tried to reason but the old woman wouldn't listen.

"That's enough talk!" she stated as she got ready for another attack. Seeing she wasn't going to listen to reason, Sasuke too prepared himself to defend his sensei. However, neither got the chance to do anything as another elder about the same age as the woman, came over and put his hand up in front of her. The woman stopped, startled by his actions.

"Take a closer look at the man sis," he reasoned. The old woman did as she was told this time.

"Huh?" She re saw the man in front of her and froze for a moment taking him in.

"It's true, there's a resemblance…but this one is not the White Fang," her brother continued. The woman cocked an eyebrow as she continued studying him. Kakashi waved at her and her face fell to one of disappointment. "Besides, as you know…the White Fang of the leaf died long ago…remember? When you heard the news, you wept in frustration because it meant you would never have your vengeance." The man paused shortly and turned to his sister with a smile on his face. "Isn't that so sis?" The woman sighed inward, a small smile crawling onto her face.

"Oh well…never mind," she stated simply. Then she began to outright laugh at the situation. Everyone around her just became confused and deadpanned. Sasuke's eye twitched. _Just who is this old hag?_ He wondered to himself. Suddenly a cry of pain came from the table in the center of the room where Kankuro was lain.

"Kankuro," whispered a concerned Baki from his spot in room. Sakura rushed to the side of the bed and began to quickly tie her hair back. Sasuke from where he stood witnessed a seriousness about her he'd never seen before.

"Here, let me look at him!" Sakura stated in a quick but calm firm tone.

"Yes, please," begged Temari as she looked on with worry. Sakura then turned to the other occupants of the room who weren't needed.

"Listen, it might help if you all clear out and give us some room," she stated matter of factly. Sasuke nodded as Kakashi turned to leave.

"Yeah, right," he agreed following his sensei into the hall. They took up seats on a bench just outside as Sakura remained and began to do her work. First she checked Kankuro's eyes then proceeded to check in his mouth for more signs she'd need to recognize. Then she listened to his heart rate. Sasuke meanwhile noticed the two elders sit by him and Kakashi on the bench. After a while they heard Sakura speak up.

"We're definitely dealing with a heavy metal based toxin," she affirmed as she straightened to address the other medics. "The kind that attacks muscle tissue destroying the cell's integrity." The medics seemed amazed.

"You were able to learn all that…in one look?" one asked incredulously. Sakura glanced up at him.

"May I see his chart?" Sakura inquired, ignoring the statement.

"Yes, of course," the medic beside the one who'd spoken answered, handing her the chart. "Here it is. We were getting a breakdown of the poison but there's still quite a few blanks." Sakura took the chart and began skimming over it.

"I know just what'll happen," she stated as she read. "The cardiac muscle will be weakened to the point where the heart will collapse and cease functioning all together. It's doubtful we'll be able to come up with an antidote in time." Temari became frantic.

"What're you saying?" she demanded. "There's nothing you can do?" Sasuke watched the two from his seat in the hall, focusing intently on the situation. He didn't know whether to be worried or complacent. Sakura turned to Temari and smiled.

"Don't worry," she said simply. Then she turned to the medics. "I'm going to need a few things and I'll need them quickly." The medics stood at attention.

"Right!" they replied in unison.

"This is going to be pretty crude but…it's the only option we have." And with that she began to tell the medics exactly what to do. They rushed about in order to aid the Kunoich and soon there were tubs of a specially mixed concentrate ready. With that, Sakura began the operation of entering her chakra mixed with the medical solution into his body and forcibly removing the toxin from his cells into the solution and out through another incision. Sasuke couldn't get a good view from where he sat but the cries of pain from Kankuro were all he needed to know that it wasn't a pleasant procedure.

The minutes seemed to tick by as Sasuke watched. Meanwhile Kakashi had pulled out his favourite new book and had begun reading it…again. Sasuke caught a glimpse of it out of his peripheral vision. Then a thought occurred to him. He kept his gaze locked on Sakura and the medical team as he asked Kakashi his burning question.

"So…who exactly was this White Fang of the leaf that got the old goat so rowdy?"

"Hm?" Kakashi murmured as he glanced at his student. The old woman turned to give him a look too because he'd mentioned the White Fang again and he'd called her an old goat. Kakashi sighed.

"Ah, that's a tricky one," he responded. He closed his book on a bookmarked page and gazed up at the ceiling in thought. Sasuke gave him a sideways glance. "How to put it," Kakashi pondered. "He was…well…in a word…he was my father." He finally finished. Sasuke now seemed intrigued. Meanwhile a sudden spark of utter disbelief and shock sprang onto the elderly woman's face. She raised a wavering finger to point at Kakashi.

"Y-you there," she began. "You're the son of the White Fang?" she asked incredulously. Kakashi turned to face her with a sheepish eyes smile whilst scratching the back of his head. He chuckled.

"Yeah…that's right." The lady continued quivering. Sasuke raised an eyebrow.

"Do I even want to know what happened between you two?" he wondered aloud more to himself than anyone else. His question went unanswered however as the old woman's brother gazed a Kakashi too and nodded.

"So that's it…that explains why you look like him." Kakashi continued to nervously scratch the back of his head and chuckle as Sasuke took glances between his sensei and the two elders. He sighed, leaning back against the wall, closing his eyes and crossing his arms over his chest and that's how he stayed most of the time as the procedure in the operating room was going on across the hall.

Seconds ticked by, turning into minutes and soon into hours. At some point, though he was still paying attention with his ears, Sasuke drifted off for a spell, coming to much later to see Sakura pulling another poison filled bubble out of Kankuro's body. However, after this one she wiped her forehead and turned to the medics, a light reassuring smile on her face.

"I removed most of the poison," she stated. "I believe that ought to put him out of any immediate danger." A gasp and then a long sigh of relief echoed throughout the room. Kakashi and Sasuke took this as their cue to enter again and as they did, Temari who'd been riddled with absolute tension and worry for her brother, finally breathed and slid down against a wall with relief. Sakura spoke up again.

"But he's not completely out of the woods yet," she continued. Now then…I have to quickly put together an antidote for the traces of toxin still remaining in his body."

"I see," replied Baki. "Anything you need don't hesitate to ask." Sakura nodded.

"Well first I'll need a list of all the medicinal herbs you have in this village."

"Yes at once," spoke one of the medics, running off to get the list as Sakura turned to the remaining ones.

"And we should change his bandages for new ones."

"Yes ma'am!" Another medic got to work.

"I'll need an IV drip set up stat!"

"Got it!"

"Oh and be sure to set aside a portion of the toxin I extracted. I'll be needing it later." All of the medics now had jobs to do and so set about doing so. Meanwhile, Sasuke stayed back observing his teammate's calm and collected manor with a smile he didn't even know he was wearing.

 _Wow, gotta hand it to her…the girl knows her stuff. And she's become exceptionally stronger as well. Honestly, you wouldn't look at the old Sakura and think she was capable of such feats and yet…here she is. I wonder…what else haven't I seen yet?_ Sakura meanwhile had pulled her hair out of the elastic she'd put it up in to keep her hair out of the way during the operation. As she flicked her hair back and forth she caught sight of Sasuke smiling at her and blushed slightly. She found a smile of her own growing on her face as she looked away. She cleared her throat.

"Something interesting to you Uchiha?" she teased. Sasuke's cheeks flared up as he noticed his smile and replaced it with an annoyed scowl, turning away as she glanced back.

"Humph, no!" he retorted. Suddenly he wondered why he'd gotten so flustered. However, before he could try to talk to her again, the elderly woman came to stand beside Sakura calling her attention away from the flushed raven haired teen.

"You remind me of the old slug queen, Tsunade," the elderly woman commented as she gazed over her previous work. "Isn't it strange, you turning up in our village like this?" She eyed Sakura speculatively. Sakura turned to face her with a smile as she finished retying her headband on.

"Well after all, Lady Tsunade is my teacher," she said sheepishly. "And it was by her order that I personally came here." The woman went silent as she entered into her own thoughts. One of the medics returned to give Sakura the list of the medicinal herbs.

A bit later as the sun rose higher, a message was delivered from the leaf ninja. Kakashi received it from Baki in the hall just as Sasuke came up beside him.

"So, what's up?" he wondered, trying to read over Kakashi's shoulder. Kakashi glanced up at him.

"She says that team Gai is on its way here to back us up," he replied. Sasuke drew back cocking a skeptical eyebrow.

"You mean the green bean duo, Tenten and Neji?" he scoffed. Kakashi raised his own eyebrow at his student. "What?"

"The green bean duo?" he queried. Sasuke crossed his arms and turned away.

"Yeah, like I need criticism from a closet perv who can't even bother to find a new book to read."

"Ah, nice come back," Kakashi quipped with an eye smile. "I dare say that you're becoming more of a smart allec like him." Sasuke huffed snatching the scroll with the message from the fifth hokage on it from Kakashi.

"Heh, as if!" he grumbled annoyed. He began reading the contents of the scroll smirking as he went along. "Well at any rate, it'll be much more interesting to see how they've all changed in the past few years, especially Neji. I wanna see just what a Jonin like him can do!" Kakashi watched as Sasuke gripped the scroll tighter as he finished reading and let his arm drop to the side. He could see fire dancing in his pupil's eyes, an excitement at the thought of testing his new skills on someone other than himself, his teacher. He sighed to himself as he also remembered Sakura's excellent performance with Kankuro.

 _They grow up so fast,_ he sighed internally. _At this rate, they'll be leaving me in the dust….and I can only imagine how much stronger Naruto's gotten._

Suddenly, Sasuke handed the scroll back to his sensei as he walked by on his way back into Kankuro's room past him and Baki. The two watched him as he went.

"Well there's no sense for us to waste too much time here. We should get ourselves back on track and go save the Kazekage don't you think?" Kakashi raised an eyebrow at his student's proclamation.

"And do you even know where to start?" Kakashi questioned. Sasuke glanced back over his shoulder.

"Humph, obviously with the guy who fought them head on. I doubt he'd come back without some scrap of evidence," Sasuke retorted. He turned back around and approached the bed.

"Hey wait, maybe you should let him rest," Baki tried to reason.

"Relax, I sense he's coming around. You should be in here too or are you not his sensei?" Baki was taken aback by the Uchiha's bluntness but nevertheless, he and Kakashi reentered the room and also approached the bed. Almost as if on cue, Kankuro began to stir and his eyes opened to see the medics, his sister, teacher and Sasuke and Kakashi standing over him.

"He's awake," exclaimed a surprised medic. They all gazed down at him. Kankuro struggled to move as he willed his vision to clear.

"Kankuro are you alright!" exclaimed his sister nearby. He looked up at her and noticed her face.

"Temari," he whispered. "Back already?" Temari smiled some with relief.

"I heard the village was in trouble," she replied.

"I'm sorry…to be such a bother," he apologized.

"Shut-up!" she retorted. "Don't be ridiculous!" Suddenly Sasuke walked around the end of the table and approached from behind so he stood right next to Temari. He smirked down at Kankuro.

"Well you look like you've seen better days," he quipped. Kankuro turned his gaze on Sasuke and squinted. Suddenly his eyes widened with realization.

"Sasuke Uchiha…of the leaf…is that really you?" he asked amazed. Sasuke smirked.

"It sure is," he replied. "I'm here with my team to help you guys out. I hear you tried to take them on alone," he snickered.

"Sasuke!" reprimanded Temari but Kankuro just snickered in reply.

"Yeah, I guess it wasn't too bright but hey…they had my little brother…what was I supposed to do…let them just walk away?"

"I suppose you have a point there," replied Sasuke. Then his face became serious again. "Listen, we're here to help get him back. I know you're not the kind of guy who's too reckless so if there's any information you could give concerning who you fought, then please…we could really use a lead right now." Kakashi came forward, placing a hand on his student's shoulder.

"Sasuke, he was fighting with the Akatsuki. I doubt that he'd be able to…"

"Heh, I got you more than info," Kankuro interrupted Kakashi. "Just get me my puppets and I'll show you just what I've got!" he turned to his teacher. "I assume they were recovered right?" he spoke in a raspy tone. At first Baki just stood there but then shook himself from his stupor.

"Yes…of course!" Baki left immediately to retrieve Kankuro's puppets while Kankuro slowly sat up in bed. He was wincing from the pain of the remaining poison but still he was able to sit. Soon his puppets were on the floor beside his bed and he held his teacher, Kakashi and Sasuke in a firm gaze.

"One fought with me," he started, "while the other carried Gaara away. "You might be able to follow Gaara's scent but…you can definitely track the one I fought…I made sure of it." Kankuro shifted himself on the bed and pointed to the hand of his puppet, crow. "You see…I've got his scent here!" With that, Kankuro shifted the chakra strings for crow and his fingers fell open to reveal a piece of black cloth. "The last thing I did was make sure I got a scrap of his clothing."

Kakashi leant down to pick up the cloth and pulled it up to inspect. He gazed at it as he spoke.

"Even in defeat, you went down fighting," he stated simply. Then he glanced up at Kankuro. "Just what I'd expect from a sand shinobi," he finished. Kankuro smiled with gratitude for the compliment then suddenly he felt a flash of pain in his body and grunted and gasped. Temari was by his side in an instant.

"Kankuro, what is it?" she demanded to know. Kankuro's gaze fell upon Sasuke again. He breathed in and out for a while but finally calmed himself. He sighed as the pain subsided for a while.

"Sasuke…thank you…for coming all this way. I'm grateful for your presence…" he winced in pain again. Temari was frantic.

"Kankuro please!" she begged trying to get him to lie down. Kankuro just waved her off.

"Sasuke…if…if it's not too much to ask…" he paused to wince again but continued. "I'd really feel a whole lot better…if Gaara was brought back safely…please!" He winced again and Sasuke bowed his head slightly in respect.

"You have my word…we'll do our best! That's a promise!" He then held Kankuro with a fierce gaze and Kankuro knew that he meant it. Then the gaze softened some with a smile then a sigh. "Now…please get some rest. Until Sakura gives you the antidote and you're properly healed…you're not ready to be pushing yourself too hard. So just leave it all up to us. We've got this!" Kankuro smiled then nodded as he lied back down.

"Yeah, thanks. Thank you very much…Sasuke." Sasuke nodded and turned away from the bed walking over to where Kakashi stood. Kakashi bit his thumb drawing blood, made the correct hand seals and placed his hand firmly on the ground.

"Summoning Jutsu!" he called out. In a puff of smoke, his ninja summoning hounds appeared.

"At your service," exclaimed Pakun the leader. "Eight ninja hounds!" Kakashi knelt down.

"I need you guys to get on this right away," he spoke seriously while holding out the scrap of the Akatsuki's clothing. The hounds began sniffing it, getting the scent memorized. "Find out which way he went okay? Go on!" With that, the hounds vanished all but Pakun.

"We'll let you know when we find something," he assured them then was gone with the rest of them. Sasuke smirked.

"There…now all we have to do is wait for them to find something and we can head out after Gaara." Kakashi nodded. Suddenly the two elderly ones came forth to Kankuro's bedside.

"Kankuro," the woman spoke up. Kankuro gave her and the old man a look of both recognition and shock.

"Lady Chiyo…and Lord Ebizo? You're here?" he questioned. Chiyo nodded.

"There's something we must know and only you can tell us," she explained. "Am I correct in thinking that one of your opponents; the one you fought with was Sasori?" Sasuke trained his ears to hear the answer and Kankuro gave Chiyo a saddened look before turning away.

"Well speak up. Kankuro?" pressed Ebizo. Kankuro sighed then gave his answer.

"Yes…Sasori of the red sand," he replied. "He told me so himself." Silence fell on the two elders and Chiyo glanced at Kankuro's puppets still on the floor.

"Sasori of the red sand huh?" questioned Kakashi. "I get the feeling you know something about these Akatsuki. Will you tell us?" Silence fell again. Finally after a while, Chiyo just up and left the room altogether, leaving her brother behind. He sighed heavily.

"Was I asking for too much?" Kakashi wondered. Ebizo just came to stand beside him.

"You have to understand…it brings back painful memories for my sister. I think she just needs some time to accept this before she can talk to you about that." Kakashi nodded.

"Understood," he agreed. Sasuke crossed his arms and went back out into the hall. He sat down on the bench again, leaned back and closed his eyes to await any kind of order. There was no point in leaving without intel and there was even less point to leaving without full strength so rest was needed. They'd probably have to wait until tomorrow at best in order to chase after them…that is if Pakun and the rest of the hounds found something.

Sasuke's mind drifted off to a common topic for him these days; Naruto. He wondered where he was; how he was doing; how much stronger he'd gotten over the years and what he looked like now. the last time he'd seen him was during their great battle. He'd been in his same orange jumpsuit that screamed "Look, I'm over here" to any enemy and had been shorter than him and Sakura. He'd always had weird markings like cat whiskers on his cheeks. In their youth, Sasuke had always wondered what significance they had.

He remembered their missions together, how Naruto had always acted out trying to get someone's attention and show off and he and Sakura would just sigh and try to ignore him thinking that he didn't need an ego boost. Back then, Sasuke had been the problematic one and Naruto the hard core believer in the impossible. However when things began to change, the good times just seemed to stop all together. Then it had all derailed on that fateful day.

Ever since then, Sasuke had strived to become strong enough to bring back his best friend and whom he believed was his true brother. He remembered returning from the mission; how he'd sat thinking in his hospital bed and when Shikamaru had come in to check on him he'd apologized over and over again for forcing him and the others into such a difficult situation even though he knew he could never truly be forgiven. Then Sakura had come in and upon seeing him she'd burst into tears and hugged him. He'd been shocked and after a while, his own tears had formed, falling silently. He'd started saying he wasn't good enough to remain a shinobi and went on about how weak he was.

That had been the first time Sakura had hit him. She'd drawn back from the embrace and had smacked him hard atop his crown with her fist and Sasuke had finally known why Naruto had been reluctant to tick her off at times. She'd glared at him and had spoken to him with force and authority he didn't know she'd had, saying that running off to find power just because it was offered was like accepting a candy bribe from a stranger and that he wanted to get stronger he'd have to work for it no matter how long it took. Then she'd told him that a shinobi is one who endures and left him slightly flabbergasted and the next thing he knew, she'd asked Lady Tsunade to train her. After that, he'd taken the time to heal and eventually all of the retrieval squad had forgiven him. Then he and Sakura had vowed to bring Naruto back one way or another.

Not too soon after, he'd hunted down the old toadstool and had pestered him into training him for two years and then he'd left the village with him to do so. Now he was here in the sand after all that time; on his way to hunt down the Akatsuki and find the Kazekage which was a step closer to Naruto.

Suddenly Sasuke felt a light tap on his shoulder that pulled him from his deep thoughts. He opened his eyes slowly and looked up at a smiling Sakura with Kakashi standing behind her.

"Hey Sasuke…it's late so they've offered us places to stay for tonight. Let's go okay?" Sakura spoke softly. Sasuke shifted in his seat then finally stood up looking around.

"It's gotten dark," he observed, seeing out the windows in the operating room. Sakura nodded. "Must've dozed off. Alright, let's go." He followed after Kakashi and Sakura who were following Baki and Tamari. Finally, they reached their rooms for the night, Sakura being put in one for herself as she was the only female. Kakashi and Sasuke had to share a room.

As they got ready, Kakashi glanced up at his student already sitting on his bed and gazing out the window. He smiled softly under his mask.

"You were thinking of him weren't you?" he questioned. Sasuke blushed lightly and cleared his throat.

"Maybe," he replied. Kakashi just smiled at the boy's half denial.

"Well…we have a lot to do tomorrow. Try to get some sleep."

"K." With that, Kakashi lay down on his bed and turned out the light. Sasuke however remained awake for a while longer just staring out the window. Finally, after a while of thinking to himself he sighed and crawled under the covers then continued to stare out the window until his eyes drooped shut and he fell asleep.

* * *

"It seems we'll be working in conjunction with a squad from the Sand Village," Kakashi explained the next morning. Sasuke and Sakura were all ready to go and just waiting for their new partners to arrive. Since Pakun had actually arrived the very morning they'd needed to set out, they were now ready to move as they now knew where the Akatsuki had taken Gaara.

"Sorry to keep you waiting," spoke the voice of Temari. Sasuke and Sakura turned to see Temari leading what looked like four ninja. Sasuke could tell she was eager to get going.

"Temari!" Sakura exclaimed. Temari nodded Sakura's direction to acknowledge her. Sasuke smirked.

"Well if that's everybody," Kakashi said.

"Then let's get moving," Sasuke finished. However, before the two groups could depart, Baki arrived, leaping down from a rooftop he'd been running across previously.

"Wait!" he exclaimed. The shinobi present regarded him and nodded at their acknowledgment of him. He then turned to Temari with serious eyes.

"Temari…you and your group are to stay here; patrol the perimeter," he stated. Temari tensed up.

"Are you kidding me or what?" she spoke up, voice wavering. Baki just sighed.

"Orders," her explained. "From above." Temari was taken aback so Baki took his advantage to explain to her. "If word gets out that the Kazekage is missing, our enemies may use it as an opportunity to launch an attack on the village." The group including Temari tense with anger and frustration as team Kakashi just watched from where they stood.

"Come on!" complained one of the shinobi.

"Don't you get it," Temari tried to explain. "That's all the more reason we have to get him back as quickly as we can!" She turned to team Kakashi, gesturing with her arm. "Look at these leaf ninja. They left their village and came all the way here just to help us rescue Gaara. And Gaara's not even their leader. He's our Kazekage! The sand shinobi should be the ones to save him!" Baki flinched as his previous student made a good point. He looked down some in shame.

"I'm sorry," he said simply. Sasuke stepped forward.

"Don't worry," he assured her. "We have backup from the leaf coming and we can handle this. But just think if one of the other nations tried to attack your village and you weren't here to stop it. You could lose your home and Gaara wouldn't have a place to return to," he explained. Temari turned to him with desperation in her eyes.

"But…" Sakura stepped forward too.

"He's right ya know," she pointed. "I know Gaara's your little brother but he's also your Kazekage. Don't you think he'd be heartbroken if he found out his home had become a battlefield with another nation? I know you want to come so I'll make you a deal. We'll just kick their asses extra hard for ya k?" Temari gave a weak smile.

"You guys…thank you…but…I should at least go…as his sister,"

"I'm sorry Temari," Baki apologized. "But the council's decision was absolute."

"But I…" Temari tried to protest.

"Well I'm going!" shouted a voice from above them. Everyone turned their gazes skyward to see a figure standing on top of the Kazekage's tower. After a while of squinting, they recognized who it was. "If a sand shinobi is needed then I'm the one to go," she declared.

"Granny Chiyo?" questioned a stunned Temari.

"But your so…" Baki couldn't bring himself to finish his sentence.

"Outdated?" Sasuke offered unamused. Sakura gave him a dangerous glare that made him flinch. However, despite the rude remark, Chiyo just smiled down at them all.

"Perhaps I'm retired," she spoke eyeing the Uchiha and everyone else. "But that only means that I'm free to do whatever I want."

"Yes but...the journey will be difficult," one of the Shinobi tried to reason.

"Bah! Don't treat me like a fossil!" she bellowed. With that she took a mighty leap from the roof of the building shocking everyone and Sasuke and Sakura were force to move out of the way as she landed where they'd once been standing. She now stood right in front of Kakashi and looked up with a wicked grin.

"After all…it's been a while since I've doted on my adorable grandchild." Everyone stared at her in shock and Kakashi nodded getting the message.

"Very well, then I guess we'd be wise to take you with us." Chiyo chuckled.

"Indeed. I might be "Outdated"," she emphasized the word Sasuke had used making him feel slightly guilty and slightly fearful of what she could possibly do. "But I've still got a few tricks left up my sleeve. Plus…it's wise that when dealing with a puppet master…you send another puppet master. And I do so love testing the limits of other youths as well." Sasuke felt a chill run up his spine as the old woman began to cackle gleefully. Now he wished he'd kept his mouth shut because he could tell she was plotting something.

A while later the team was assembled outside the main entrance to the village and ready to go. Baki, Temari and the team she'd assembled to help before being reassigned was there as well to see them off.

"Alright, we'll head out on our own then," declared Kakashi. Baki nodded.

"Thank you. I'll try to convince the council to change their mind," he promised. Temari gave them a thankful and apologetic smile.

"Don't worry we'll catch up with you." Sasuke scoffed and turned around to leave.

"You just worry about your duties," he spoke arrogantly. He glanced back and smirked at Temari who looked like she was questioning whether or not to start fuming. "By the time you could even make it out to help, we'll already be on our way back with you brother." Temari eased up at this and Sakura sighed and rolled her eyes at the Uchiha's need to put on a cool guy front to hide his true feelings. Her eyes fell back on Temari with a smile on her face.

"Don't worry. We're going to win this one so see you soon," she promised and as if on silent agreement, the rest of team Kakashi turned tail with Chiyo and started out on the road to finding Gaara. All the while, Sasuke kept a wary eye on Chiyo, fearing she might turn on him at any moment to settle the score. Who knew how strong she was. Judging by what she was capable of back when they'd first met…he wasn't eager to find out any time soon.


End file.
